Guardians of Power
by ShadowVulpix
Summary: Ashley Ketchum is a new trainer, starting with a new friend. Luckily for her, she holds several extra abilities and has links to old friends that can help her. Though when both old and new enemies rise, can she stand up to the test they leave? Palletshipping later on. Fem!Ash, in case you didn't guess.
1. Prologue 1

**AN: Hello there guys, and welcome to another new story! Welcome… to Guardians of Power! I know, the title doesn't make sense, but it will. Just not yet. Anyway, couple of things. First, this story will be uploaded kinda randomly, as my main focus is on the other stories. Second, this is all one book. I'll go through every region in one. They'll be clearly sectioned off, but there you go. Third, my other friends will be appearing, but the first chapters are solo just so it's more calm. Four, shipping. I'm not a huge fan of most ships, but given the nature of this story, as you can see from the description, I've chose to include Palletshipping! I have something funny planned for that later, so please bear with my horrible writing of a relationship. Five, this Ash is going to be somewhat OP, but for good reasons. And it won't be an 'Ash destroys all' fanfic, as I don't like those much either. There will be a semi decent difficulty curve. Finally, the first bit of this will be pre series, to show a bit of what's going on in the story. Special events will be marked out. Anyway, I've rambled long enough, so let's begin! Ya'll already know I don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

A young girl of around five waved to her parents as they left. They waved back, before turning and climbing onto a plane. It took off, but the child kept waving until it was out of sight.

"Come on dear, let's head back to mine. Your cousins can't wait to see you again."

"Ok Aunty!" She chirped. She took her aunt's hand, who walked to a car with her. The girls mood suddenly deteriorated. "Aunty, why do Mom and Dad have to leave?" Her aunt sighed.

"Well, you know how important your Mother's job is, so she needs to go to her home often."

"Yeah, but why does Dad have to go too?"

"Because he's needed to represent here." The two had climbed into the car by this point, and were driving away from the central city of the region. They had a long journey to the home of her aunt and cousins, in the cold north. They would be there in about a half day, taking the shortcut through the mountain that her aunt had made. The young girl curled up, going to sleep.

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 3 months.***

* * *

The girl from before was looking out of the window of a bedroom at the falling snow. Her parents would be back today, and they would be meeting her at her own house. Both her twin cousins were outside, building in the snow. They were more used to the cold than her, having lived here, instead of in the slightly warmer south east of the region. She heard a knock on the door, and her aunt opened it. She ignored it, knowing how often this happened. People wanting to talk to her aunt when it was her day off was a constant, and something she had gotten used too. The door closed, and her aunt called her. Quickly walking downstairs, she went to the living room, and saw her aunt with a letter in her hand, and a sad look on her face.

"Is something wrong?"

"It's…" Her aunt swallowed, and tried again. "It's your parents."

"Are they back?" She asked, excited.

"No." Handing her the letter, she started to talk. "They were talking to your fathers special friend when some people showed up. We don't know who they were, but they tried to catch his friend. Your parents held them off to let her escape, but…" A few tears slid down her cheeks, and the child's breath caught. "Both your parents… were killed." The letter slid out of her hand, falling to the floor. She shook, tears rolling silently down her face. "They want you to go to your aunt's house, in Kanto." Her aunt wrapped her arms around her, bringing her into a hug, as the tears started falling in earnest. "I'll get it all arranged, and get my aide to close up for a while, but we'll leave next week." Nothing left to say, the two sat in silence, only punctuated by the sobs of the five year old.

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 2 days.***

* * *

A car pulled up to a small house. It had been a two day journey, heading for the south east. Three children climbed out, and the driver locked the car.

"Ok dear, we need to get packed for your move. Go to your room and pick up everything you want, and I'll help put it away." The youngest of the three nodded, and silently went up to her bedroom. She quickly gathered her things, looking carefully around the room for the last time. She wasn't sure if she'd ever come back here. At least, she knew she wouldn't anytime soon. She could hear her cousins talking to her aunt downstairs, but brushed it off. It wasn't important. She walked down the stairs again, and put her things neatly into the case that her aunt had found. The younger of her cousins hugged her. "Is that everything?" Her aunt asked. She nodded. "Ok. Let's go to the airport. A friend is going to go with you. I can't hold up any more challengers."

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 2 days.***

* * *

Her aunt was handing the suitcase to a tall person with blue hair. He was a friend of her aunt's, and was taking her to Kanto. The twins and herself stood a little ways away, waiting for the conversation to end.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Her cousin said.

"Though not forever!" His sister added. "When we become Pokemon trainers, we'll travel over to you to see you again!"

"Maybe mom will get some time off and bring us over earlier." He continued. "Either way, we'll come visit sometime."

"I'll do my best." Her aunt said, amusedly. "Anyway, it's time for you to go. We'll need to get back to the gym soon."

"I know." The child said quietly.

"Now, we haven't forgotten anything, right?" She said, with a pointed look at her daughter.

"Oh!" She gasped, slipping her backpack off. "We bought you this. As a good luck present." The five year old opened the slim box she was handed, and smiled slightly. She took out a bracelet, a red jewel on a golden chain. She slipped it on.

"Thank you." She smiled, hugging them both. A Pokeball burst open at her aunt's waist, and a small Eevee hugged her leg. She patted it. "I'll come back someday." Eevee let go, and she ran over to the gym aide she was travelling with. They got on the plane, the girl sitting by the window, and waved to her aunt and cousins. They waved back, and kept waving. Even as the plane took off, until they were out of sight. The gym aide next to her pulled out a notebook of some form.

"You should get some sleep." He said, without looking up. "This will be a long trip to Kanto." She nodded, and pulled a small travelling pillow out her bag. As she drifted off to sleep, she looked at the back, smiling as she saw the thing written on the back.

 _Ashley Ketchum. Sorry to see you go!_

* * *

 **AN: Sad starts return! In the others, Ki keeps them from getting too depressing, but this is my show. Ki is still helping, though. Anyway, you might have guessed who that was at the beginning, using the description, but maybe you didn't even read it. So, the next chapter is going to be pre journey, but after that we should be getting started. I don't know, maybe I'll add some more pre journey stuff. If I need to, that is. Also, I know I said this would start to be uploaded when New Beginnings ends, but it's my birthday, so I wanted to start it now. I don't think there's anything else to add, so I'll take my leave here. See everyone next week!**


	2. Prologue 2

**AN: Hi guys! I'm back from the Distortion World known as writing block, and ready to give you a new chapter! This has a bit of Ashley in, with more focus on a few certain Pokemon who will look after her, as well as something to do with her parents. I'm sure you want to read this, so I'll leave you here. I don't own Pokemon!**

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 2 weeks.***

* * *

Ashley Ketchum had arrived at her aunt Delia's house in Kanto a week and a half ago. She had been picked up by Delia from Goldenrod City in Johto, as Saffron's airport was shut down at the time. She had unpacked and organised the room she would be living in, and was now sitting on the bed, reading a book.

"Ashley dear?" Delia called up the stairs. "Would you like to go to Professor Oak's and play with the Pokemon?"

"Ok Aunt Delia!" She called back. Finding a bookmark, she replaced the book on the shelf and rushed downstairs. She was wearing a short sleeved shirt and jeans, a fairly casual attire to some of the things she owned. "What sort of Pokemon does the Professor have?"

"Most of the Pokemon there don't belong to Oak. He looks after the Pokemon that trainers don't have on them."

"Why would a trainer leave their Pokemon?"

"Well, a trainer can only carry six Pokemon at a time, so they send their Pokemon to the ranch for Oak to look after until they need them."

"Oh, ok." The two of them walked towards Professor Oak's ranch, a few of the people who were out waving to Delia as they passed, and asking Ashley how she was, and if she was settling in. She replied quickly, still a little shy around all of the unfamiliar people, in the town she didn't know. At least it was warmer than Sinnoh. Delia knocked on the door to the lab, and the door opened.

"Ah, Delia! It's good to see you!"

"Hello Professor! I've bought Ashley over to play with some of the Pokemon. Is that ok?"

"Hello there Ashley."

"Hello." She replied shyly.

"You can play with some of the smaller Pokemon that are out back. Delia, would you mind if I have a word?" Ashley followed the adults through to the back yard, and a huge ranch spread out in front of them. Ashley walked down the slope, and a curious Growlithe came over to her and started sniffing at her feet. She reached down to pet him, and he yipped quietly.

"Hello little one." She said, patting his head. "Are you one of the Pokemon who stays here when your trainer is busy?" He yapped an affirmative. "Can you introduce me to all of your friends?" He nodded, moving away from her and barking. A few yipps answered, and three other Pokemon rushed up the hill. A Herdier, an Eevee, and a Luxio ran up to meet the Growlithe, answering his bark with their own. The Pokemon had a conversation for a few minutes, then all four of the small Pokemon came over to Ashley. She sat down, letting each of them clamber over for a hug, and she chuckled.

* * *

While this was happening, a little outside of Pallet, a blue blur slowed to a stop. Its purple ruff rippled as it caught its breath, and a small pink Pokemon flew out, turning a flip in the air before settling.

' _Thanks for the lift!'_ It said telepathically. ' _There's no way I could have flown that fast.'_

' _ **Why did you need a lift anyway? Couldn't we just teleport?'**_ The other replied.

' _Yeah, but there's no way to know if there would be humans nearby. I'd rather not have been caught by some random trainer. This was safer.'_

' _ **If you say so.'**_ The blue one looked around. ' _ **Where is it then?'**_

' _Just through here, I think.'_ The pink one floated over to the bushes and looked out. ' _Yeah. Now, we need to make sure the adults aren't around at first. I want to talk to her first, before explaining to the others.'_

' _ **Is she alone then?'**_

' _She is. A few normal Pokemon, but no other humans.'_

' _ **Well, let us go. I want to get this done soon, in case the Lady needs me.'**_

' _She has your brothers there, isn't that enough?'_ Another twirl from the pink Pokemon. ' _I get your point though. Come on, let's go. You talk to her first, she should know me.'_ Both Pokemon broke through the trees, blue in front of the pink, and both ready to attack in an instant. Just in case.

* * *

On the other end of the ranch, unaware of what was happening in the trees across, Ashley was playing with the four Pokemon who had came to her. Suddenly, in the middle of their game, Herdier looked up, and barked something to the others. All four went on alert, and she looked to them.

"Is something wrong?"

' _ **I apologize for disturbing you, but this is important.'**_ A cool voice answered her question, and Ashley turned to see a Pokemon, blue, with white spots and a purple mane.

"Hello." She said. "Who are you, and what's so important? For that matter, how do I understand you?"

' _ **My name is Suicune.'**_ She replied. ' _ **And you're able to understand me because of an aura trick I can use. It took a while to learn, but it is very helpful.'**_

"Suicune…" Ashley trailed off, then brightened. "I think my mom's friend mentioned you once, in a visit."

' _ **I have heard quite a bit about your mother from the Lady in question. In fact, that is most of why we are here.'**_

"We?" She asked, as Suicune stepped aside. "Who's…?" The smaller Pokemon floating behind Suicune came into her sight, and she froze. "Oh." Mew floated in place, a miserable look on her face, and came forward, hugging Ashley.

' _I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!'_ She said rapidly, hiding her face from Ashley.

"What for?"

' _It's my fault!'_ She cried. ' _Those people were after me, and your parents were there, and they stayed to make sure I could escape, and it's my fault! They should have just turned me over!'_ Mew was hugging Ashley, still ashamed to show her face. She was worried that Ashley would hate her because of what had happened. She loved Ashley, even though they had only met a few times, and she was too young to remember any of them very clearly except one. The one from around four months ago, where she had appeared to ask both her parents to go back to her mother's home to talk to some people. So she was understandably surprised when Ashley patted her on the head.

"I don't blame you." She said quietly. "I know that my parents wanted you to escape, and they knew what they were doing. They knew they were risking their lives to make sure you were safe, but they didn't care. And anyway," She continued, surprising herself with a chuckle. "I think I'd be more angry if that had happened and you'd still ended up caught."

' _Thank you.'_ Mew said quietly, pulling away for Ashley. ' _I was really worried that you would hate me.'_

' _ **Moreover, how are you only five?'**_ Suicune asked. ' _ **That was really smart sounding.'**_ All three girls laughed, and the young Pokemon Ashley had been playing with before the legendary's had arrived laughed too.

"What did you do to get away, though?"

' _I flew to the top of the tree and out one of the secret paths in the side. From there, I went to the Queen's palace and landed in the garden. I used my human form and found the Queen in there. She's one of the only one's who knows my human form, and when I told her what happened, she sent up a group to take a look.'_ Mew looked down, not needing to fill in the rest.

"Is this the only reason that you're here?" Ashley asked.

' _ **Not quite.'**_ Suicune replied. ' _ **There's one more thing we need. First, we need to find those two humans that are here.'**_

"Well…" Ashley began, then stopped. "That shouldn't take long. They're both coming out the lab now."

' _ **Well, this will be interesting.'**_ Suicune moved so she was standing behind and a little to the right of Ashley, and Mew placed herself on her left shoulder.

"Hi Aunt Delia! Hi Professor Oak!" Ashley shouted up to them. She started walking over to them, and Suicune padded behind. Both adults stopped and blinked. Then blinked again.

"Ashley? Why is there a Mew on your shoulder? And why is there a Suicune behind you?" The Professor asked.

"They came to talk to me!" She said brightly.

"That just raises more questions…" Delia said.

"Well, Mew's my friend. She only came over a few times, normally to get Mom, but she's good friend of mine." Ashley explained. "This is the first time I've met Miss Suicune though."

' _ **Please, don't say miss.'**_ She asked. ' _ **It's annoying enough when Pokemon do it.'**_

"Ok." She replied. "Anyway, they came to see how I was settling in."

' _That isn't the only thing though.'_ Mew said, still on Ashley's shoulder. ' _Professor, how many legends do you know of in the Kanto Johto area?'_

"Err..." The Professor looked startled at the legendary asking the question, and took a moment to reply. "Well, there's Ho-oh, Lugia, Raikou, Entei and Suicune, you of course Mew, and Celebi. Oh, and the three legendary birds as well." Mew nodded.

' _That's right. What you probably don't know is the Lugia and bird trio from the Orange Islands. The trio in Johto is more roaming, like the Beasts,'_ Here she nodded to Suicune. ' _And Lugia is different too. Now, out of those, Ho-oh and the birds are the only one's who can't talk with humans. That's both the bird trio's, by the way. The Johto Lugia can, but she doesn't because of trainers. The one from the Orange Islands can, but he has a full time job keeping the three birds in check. They're almost always fighting. And as for Celebi…'_ Mew shrugged. ' _Good luck finding her when you need her. Even I don't know where she is half the time. Actually, that should be when…'_ Suicune rolled her eyes.

' _ **Lady Mew, maybe we should get on with it?'**_

"Actually, why are you telling us this?" Delia asked, getting over her shock at the legends.

' _Well, myself, along with the Beasts, were going to be visiting Ashley from time to time.'_ All of the humans looked at her. Mew kept going like she hadn't noticed. ' _Just to act as tutors. We can teach her a lot about Pokemon, considering we know all of them.'_

"So, the four of you are able to leave your jobs often enough to be here to talk to me… why?" Ashley asked.

' _Well, we don't need to worry about our jobs too much. Ho-oh will still have the other two Beasts to have do jobs, and my home will alert me if it's in danger.'_ Mew explained.

' _ **And from what we've heard about your line from Lady Mew, I would be interested in talking with you.'**_ Suicune added. ' _ **One of us four will be around to visit when we have time. Lady Mew will probably stay the longest, on the accountability of teleport, but we can spare time if you need us.'**_

' _Anyway, with that over, that's all we needed to do.'_ Mew broadcast, floating off Ashley's shoulder. ' _We'll head back home, and one of us will come and visit in a few weeks to see how you're doing!'_

' _ **Indeed.'**_ Suicune said. ' _ **Lady Mew, would you mind teleporting us back to the tower?'**_

' _Ok!'_ Mew floated over to Suicune and landed on her crest. Targeting her telepathy, she spoke to Ashley. ' _Thanks for being so nice to me!'_ Her eyes went a bright pink, which spread to Suicune and around herself, and they flashed pink before vanishing in the glare.

"What on earth just happened?" Professor Oak blinked.

"Apparently, Mew and the legendary Beasts want to come here every now and then to talk with me?" Ashley said, just as confused. "That's a little odd."

"Actually, how were we understanding Suicune?" Delia asked. "I think Mew was using telepathy to talk, but what about Suicune?"

"She said it was an aura trick she'd learned about a while ago." Ashley explained.

"Right." The Professor still looked a little confused about what had happened, but seemed to shake that off. "Well, do you want to keep playing with the Pokemon?"  
"Ok!" Ashley ran back down to where her new Pokepals were sitting. Delia smiled at the retreating figure.

"I have a feeling she'll go far."

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 6 months.***

* * *

In the six months since Ashley had arrived in Pallet Town, a lot had happened. She had started at the small school there, and had made a few friends. One of these was a kid named Gary, who was apparently the grandson of Professor Oak. Because of this, he was a very unlikable person most the time, as he kept bragging a lot, thinking he was better than everyone else because of his grandfather. This act had surprised her when they were in school, as she'd first met him outside of the building, when she was visiting the ranch. He'd told her about some of the Pokemon from other regions. So far, she'd only learned about Pokemon in Kanto from Mew and the Beasts when they came to visit. One of the four legends would sometimes be waiting when she got home from school, though not everyday as they sometimes had jobs they had to do. They would visit quite randomly, but the visits were always fun. Suicune and Entei talked about the Kanto Pokemon with her, as well as things like type matchups, even though she would learn that sort of stuff in school. As Suicune had said, it didn't hurt to have an advantage, no matter how small. Raikou wasn't much of a tutor; he tended to just talk with her and let her ride around with him. It was a surprise that he hadn't been seen yet, with how lax he was. Out of all of these though, the one she had been enjoying the most were Mew's visits. Mew could often afford to stay a few days, as she could teleport and her job was looking after her home, which was hardly a problem. So when Mew was around, her lessons were the most extensive, and tended to talk about legendary Pokemon. These lessons fascinated her, as she talked about the different myths surrounding these legendaries, along with the truth behind them. She also talked a lot about the different jobs of some of the legends, like the Orange Islands Lugia keeping the bird trio there under control, or Rayquaza, the guardian of the skies. One of her personal favourites was the Eon duo Latias and Latios, who were guardians of a great city. She loved the special abilities of the duo, and hoped that she could meet them someday. That was unlikely though, as most people never saw a legendary. Then again, how many people could say that they had four legendary Pokemon as tutors? Maybe she would be lucky enough to meet them after all.

* * *

 **AN: That's the second pre journey chapter done! The next one will also be a bit more pre journey stuff, then we'll actually get something done! Although, these chapters have been a little productive… oh well! I'm expecting the others to arrive in time of next chapter, so hopefully you should see them in the next AN. Also, to answer the question I got last time, the twins are OC's, the aunt isn't. Feel free to try and figure out who it is. And before I forget, I now have a Twitter for you all to use if you need to talk to me quickly. I'm Shadow Vulpix, Shadow_Vulpix2. Follow me if you want, I'll post updates when I post a chapter. You'll also see the results of my shiny hunting from in between writing, posting and writer's block. Other than that, I'll see ya'll whenever!**


	3. Prologue 3

**AN: Hello again guys! It's nice to be back! I've been focusing on my other stories recently, so I don't do that much work over here. *Knocking can be heard at the door.* Oh! Looks like the others are here! *Running off the screen for a moment, a door opens.***

 **K: Shadow, why are we here? The weather's** _ **awful**_ **.**

 **SV: Sorry, I like staying in this place.**

 **T: I'm not a huge fan of this stupidly wet and cold weather, but Pix can act like a hot water bottle, so that's fine.**

 **P: Yeah, it's fine for me. Hang on, I'll set up a Will-o-wisp for you.**

 **K: *Purple orbs circling him.* Thanks Pix.**

 **SV: Hey guys, can we get a move on? I'm kinda making an AN here.**

 **K: Oh, you are? *Notices the camera.* Oh, yeah, you were. Hi everyone!**

 **P: Is this that story that has 8 tons of backstory?**

 **T: Yeah, this is the one. I'll like reading these notes, I think.**

 **SV: I don't own Pokemon, so go read while I get these three set up!**

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 1 year and 2 months.***

* * *

Ashley was walking home from school. It was getting dark quickly, the fact that it was winter didn't help. Ashley shivered slightly as a cold sweep of wind blew past. Oh well, tomorrow was a day off, so hopefully one of the Beasts would be around. It was also her birthday, so maybe they had something planned. She hadn't seen any of them for a few weeks. She picked up the pace, rushing for home. The jewel on her bracelet glinted in the fading sunlight, the light red colour flickering slightly as it moved. It hadn't left her wrist in the last two years, serving as a reminder of her home. Despite the fact that the most recent memories of Sinnoh weren't exactly the most positive. The front door was unlocked, a habit her Aunt Delia had gotten into when school had started.

"Hello dear!" Her aunt called from the back room. "How was school?"

"Fine!" She called back, locking the door. "We mostly just looked at Pokemon from a few different regions, which I already know a lot about thank to my tutors. We did a few quizzes for each region too. I excelled at the Sinnoh part, which might help make up for my messy results for Kalos."

"Good job dear." She said as Ashley walked into the back. "I expect you did fine overall, though."

"They had a little bit about legendary myths. We didn't do a quiz for that, but it would have been fun to show that off. Although, it's just thanks to my special tutors, I suppose."

"Well, they have been extremely helpful." Delia admitted. "They'll probably come by tomorrow. After all, it's your birthday!"

"I hope so." She said. "I haven't seen them for ages!"

"Well, they do have jobs. Maybe they've been busy."

"Probably." Ashley shrugged and sat down for dinner. "I think I'll do some sketching over the next few days."

"You are a great artist. What do you think you'll draw?"

"Maybe I'll find an empty sketch pad and see if the three Beasts and Mew would let me draw them. It'll have to be separately, but it'll still be nice to have a sketch of them." Delia smiled.

"That would certainly be a crowning piece of art. Four legendaries… I'd love to put that up somewhere."

"Might be a bad idea though. You know, if someone comes over and there's four detailed images of these legendaries that are hardly ever seen."

"True. Now, you get up to bed so you're ready to go tomorrow."

"Ok." Ashley took her bag from the chair she'd left it on and dashed upstairs. Delia listened for a few moments until she was out of earshot, and turned to a cupboard.

"You can come out now." The little pink blob of Mew floated out of the cupboard, closing the door behind her. "I assume you heard her idea?"

' _Of course. I might be able to one up that idea. Now, do you say it's ok to go with my own idea?'_

"I don't know. It would be good, considering. But it might be dangerous."

' _Don't worry. I'll get a professional to stay for a few weeks to help.'_

"...Ok. I'll say go ahead."

' _Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then.'_ Mew flickered pink, and teleported out of the house, to a land far away.

* * *

Ashley was up extremely early the next morning. Well, comparatively to most other days off. After all, it was her birthday, so she was bound to be up early. She picked up her normal sketch book, and looked out the window to draw the sunrise. It was only a quick sketch, one that she could add detail to in a few moments, and she started to define the landscape around it. It took around a half hour to get the artwork done, and she smiled before packing away the book on her shelf and bringing out a new one. She found a sticky label on the side, and wrote a quick name for the pad. She stuck it to the front. _Special sightings._ It had a nice ring to it, and was a great title for her book of legendary Pokemon drawings. It would be nice to get all the four Pokemon together, but it was good enough to get them separately. It was still a chance not many others got. Glancing at the clock, she realised it was getting towards nine o'clock, and startled out of her room, quickly getting changed before going downstairs.

* * *

She walked into the kitchen to the smell of pancakes. Her aunt was bustling around the kitchen, taking up all kinds of things and cooking.

"Hi aunt Delia." She said, sitting down.

"Hello deary. Happy birthday!" Delia turned from what she was doing to give her a hug. "Is there anything you want to do today?"

"I'd like to go down to the ranch and do some more drawings. Maybe one of my tutors will show up and I can get a drawing of them."

"Alright deary. It's your day, after all, so you can do whatever you want."

"Thanks." Ashley quickly ate her breakfast, before heading back to her room to get the sketch pad she had been using, along with the new one. She struggled for a moment with her pencils and colours, but managed to get everything together. She glanced around for a second, then placed the art equipment on her bed and took a backpack out of the cupboard. Carefully, she packed all of the bits into the bag and went back downstairs.

"Ready to go so soon?"

"I want to get as much done as possible." She started. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Of course I don't. The Professor should be up by now, so we should be safe to start out." She went and opened the door, and Ashley followed her outside. As they walked to the ranch, a few of the people who were also out talked to them, and Ashley replied a lot better than before, having warmed up to the new people she was living in the town with over the last 2 years. A few of them wished her a happy birthday, and knew that she was going to the Professor's. Most weekends she would go up there, and those with children in her class knew she was a very good artist, so most assumed that she went up there to draw some of the Pokemon there. No one except Delia and the Professor knew that she really went there for lessons, let alone with one of four legendary Pokemon. They quickly reached the lab, and Delia knocked.

"Ah, hello Delia! Good morning Ashley!"

"Hi Professor!" Ashley chirped.

"Come on in. Delia, I'll start the kettle up. Ashley, I believe there are some people waiting for you." Ashley grinned and let herself round to the backyard of the ranch. She had a sneaking suspicion as to who was waiting in the ranch, and took of towards the sheltered clearing that she had her lessons with the legendaries. When she got close to the clearing, she looked around carefully for a moment before ducking under a few branches. Her jaw dropped.

"Oh. Hi guys." All three of the legendary Beasts stood and walked over to her. "What are you all doing here? I thought you normally had jobs."

' _ **We do. But thanks to Lady Ho-oh, we basically have the day off to all be here.'**_ Raikou replied.

' _ **Now, I believe you have a picture to draw?'**_ Entei continued, moving away. Suicune stood in the centre and Raikou went to her left.

"Wait, how did you know I wanted to draw the three of you together?" Ashley asked, getting her new sketchpad and some pencils out of her bag.

' _ **Mew told us.'**_ Suicune said. ' _ **Apparently she was talking to your aunt about something after you came home, and your aunt mentioned it to her.'**_ Ashley raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply, focusing on her drawing of the Beasts.

' _ **I think Mew will be here later today.'**_ Raikou said, being careful not to move too much and mess with the drawing angle.

"I hope so. I'd like to draw her as well." Ashley said quietly.

* * *

She worked for the next ten minutes, occasionally glancing up to check on a few details. By the end of those ten minutes, she had a rough sketch done, with the entirety of the detail focused on the three Beasts.

"Ok you three, I'm done with the sketch. You can come here if you want now." The three of them padded over to Ashley, and looked over her shoulder at the drawing she was working on.

' _ **This is great.'**_ Entei said.

' _ **I agree.'**_ Suicune continued. ' _ **How are you so good?'**_

"I practised." She said. She started to work on the background, having already done with the Beasts. "I'll probably add colour later, but for now I just need to get the backdrop done."

' _ **I'd say that's fine.'**_ Raikou chuckled. ' _ **You're a good enough artist for us not to mind.'**_

"Thanks. When do you think Mew will get here?"

' _ **Well, depending on how long it takes to deal with what she's doing, I don't know.'**_ Entei told her. ' _ **She shouldn't be long though.'**_

"I hope she'll be here soon." Ashley replied. She glanced up at the area the Beasts had been in, and added a bit more shading to the trees, making them cast a slight shadow on the Beasts.

* * *

It was another half an hour before the art was done. Ashley had taken out her coloured pencils and was just finishing the colours on the Beasts when a small flash announced the arrival of Mew. Ashley put down her book, sitting it on top of her bag, before standing and walking over to Mew.

"Hey Mew. What took you so long?"

' _Well, I had to get something first. Hope you don't mind.'_

"Of course not."

' _Anyway, happy birthday!'_ Mew bought her tail from behind her back, showing the case it was holding. ' _This is what I've got. Or, part of it, at least.'_ Ashley took it from her and opened it. Inside was a necklace with a glistening blue crystal. It flickered, as though it contained a small blue fire, and she smiled.

"Thanks Mew!" She said happily, clipping it on.

' _I'm glad you like it. The crystal comes from my own home. I connected it with some of the crystals back home, so you can send tiny messages if you need me on your travels.'_ She smiled back, looping around to sit on her left shoulder, with her tail draped over her right. ' _Do you want to meet my friend? He's helping with your other gift.'_

"Ok." She said. "Who is it?" As she finished speaking, a black and blue blur appeared from in the trees. The thing stood in front of them, before bowing to the four legendaries.

' _ **My lords and ladies.'**_ It said. ' _ **I am honoured with your presence.'**_

' _ **Greetings to you as well.'**_ Entei replied, nodding to him.

' _Ashley, this is one of my Lucario friends. He comes from a place called the Lucario Kingdom, in Sinnoh.'_ Mew explained. ' _Lucario, this is Ashley.'_

' _ **Greetings Ashley, friend of Mew.'**_ He nodded to her, then narrowed his eyes slightly. ' _ **Hmm… I can see what you meant, Miss Mew. She certainly has the talent.'**_

' _It's hereditary.'_ Mew shrugged, lifting off Ashley's shoulder. ' _Of course I knew she had it.'_

"What do you mean?" Ashley asked, looking between Mew and the Lucario. "What's hereditary?"

' _ **Have you not talked about this?'**_ Lucario asked, glancing at Mew.

' _Well, it's not really the best subject for her… and her mother couldn't.'_

' _ **You may as well start now. I can't really begin without the basis.'**_

' _Alright then. Ashley, take a seat, this could be a bit of a shock.'_ Ashley sat down, and Mew landed in front of her. The Beasts lay down behind them, and Lucario lent against a tree. ' _Ok. First off, what do you know about Aura?'_

"Well, I know it's what Suicune, Raikou and Entei use to translate what they say, and I guess Lucario was doing it too. Also, Riolu and Lucario have really good aura control, so they can use it better than most other Pokemon. Suicune and Entei taught me that."

' _That's right. What we haven't taught you is about human aura users. There aren't many of them, not anymore, but in the old days there were hundreds. One of the most prominent families comes from Rota, my home. There are a few lesser ones from there too. Now, your mother came from one such family. She was an aura wielder. I believe that she had been training since she was five, and had a huge amount of control.'_

"So… my mother could use that power that Lucario have?" Ashley asked slowly.

' _In a way. Skilled aura users can use things like Aura Sphere and Counter. Any move that uses aura can be used by them, along with ones that create a shielding effect. In Rota, I know about every one of the families that come from there with aura. It's a part of my job. Aura can also be used to understand and translate your voice to Pokemon, or humans as the case may be.'_

"Ok." She said, even slower. "You said it's hereditary… does that mean I have it too?"

' _It does. It's untrained at the moment, and is very weak. When trained, who knows what it could do.'_

"Is that why Lucario is here? To help train me?"

' _ **That is correct. I can only stay a maximum of a month, but in that time I will unlock your aura, and teach you a few skills. Most of these you can practise when I have left.'**_

"Ok." Ashley was silent for a few seconds as everything sunk in, then smiled and stood up. "When should we start?" Mew blinked, but Lucario moved from the tree.

' _ **Right now, if you wish.'**_

"Sure!" She went over to him. "How do we start?"

' _ **First, we need to get a feel for aura. Here.'**_ Lucario held out a paw, glowing a faint blue with aura. ' _ **This is what is should feel like.'**_ While Ashley tried to get the feel of aura, and started producing some herself, Mew settled next to the Beasts.

' _You three staying as well?'_

' _ **Of course. I want to see how she progresses. It took us a while to pick up, let alone get enough to translate perfectly.'**_

' _I guess that makes sense. What if Ho-oh needs you?'_

' _ **If necessary, I think you could teleport us back.'**_

' _Of course.'_

* * *

Over the course of the next few hours, Ashley had managed to generate a small amount of aura at surface level.

' _ **Good work.'**_ Lucario said. ' _ **It often takes human adepts much longer.'**_

' _Well done Ashley!'_ Mew chirped. ' _Why don't you run along to the lab and have some food. If you want to continue, you can run on back after.'_

"Ok!" She grinned, before taking off towards the lab. Once she was away, Mew looked at Lucario.

' _How was it, really?'_

' _ **Her power wells are ridiculous. With proper training, she may even be able to stand toe to toe with the aura adept legendaries, albeit the weaker ones.'**_ Mew whistled.

' _That good, huh?'_

' _ **Admittedly it would take a decade or two of hard training, but yes.'**_

' _This should be good. Oh, and by the way, she won't always be able to stay and train all day. She goes to a human school most days, and gets homework from that. I believe tomorrow is a day off as well, and next week they end for a holiday, so she should be fine, but just so you know.'_

' _ **Noted, Miss Mew.'**_

* * *

Ashley came running back into the clearing an hour later.

"I'm back! Sorry I took so long."

' _On the contrary, that was pretty fast.'_

"I guess. Can we keep going?"

' _ **Of course. Let's work more on generating aura at surface level. We can try and work the translation trick from there. Once you can do it a little, you can practise with one of the Beasts. From what I understand, they are good with that trick too.'**_

' _ **Of course we'll help you.'**_ Suicune said immediately.

' _ **After we do this, we can get you to generate enough aura above the surface to make something like an Aura Sphere.'**_

"Aren't we going through it a bit quick?"

' _ **I'm only going to be here for a month, remember. I'm just teaching you the basics so you can practise then afterwards. I might be able to spare time to come back for a few days in the future, but that's not something you should rely on. I help train the younger Pokemon in the kingdom, after all, so I can't always just be here.'**_

"Ok. So this is basically quick lessons to make sure I understand, then practise it all later?" Ashley checked, and got a nod in return. "Alright, let's get going."

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 1 month.***

* * *

In the month since her birthday, Ashley had excelled at her Aura training. She could produce an Aura Sphere and a Protect shield, though not very good ones, along with beginning to translate Pokemon. Lucario had still done a lot of the work on that though. They had mainly focused on getting her to make an outward form of Aura, even if it was only stable for a few seconds. It wasn't the most efficient either, taking quite a lot of energy to keep it stable for much more than that. Lucario had told her that that didn't matter, and she could practise that once he had gone. Now Lucario was leaving, and Mew and the Beasts would be assisting her with her training.

' _ **Farewell, Ashley. It was good to help teach you.'**_ He said, bowing.

"Thank you for your help Lucario. I'll do my best to get to be the best that I can be."

' _ **If you ever come back to Sinnoh, stop by sometime. We in the kingdom would be honored to see such an Aura user as you.'**_ Mew floated over to his side, being that she was teleporting him back home, and waved.

' _I'll see you again next week Ashley.'_ The pink glow covered them both, and they popped away from the clearing. Ashley smiled at the air, then turned to walk away, heading back to her house. As she walked out, she ran into Gary.

"Hi Gary." She chirped.

"Hi, Ashley." He said, smiling back. "I came to see where you were. Delia's here for you."

"Thanks Gary. I'll go meet her." Ashley grinned at him, and started off to the lab. She turned at just the right time to miss a blue flicker in the trees.

* * *

 **AN: And done! I finished getting the other three up to speed.**

 **K: I heard you mention it a while back, it seems like fun.**

 **P: I think so too! I like the aura things, so a smart Ash with aura should be fun.**

 **T: I like the idea, but don't you think we've done too much talking? It's been three chapters.**

 **SV: I guess so. I'm not going to let this ramble on for too long, so bye everyone, and we'll see you all next time! Whenever that is.**


	4. Kanto 1

**AN: Alright! We're back!**

 **K: Finally.**

 **SV: Shut it, ok? I was busy.**

 **P: We know Shadow. Don't worry. What're we doing today?**

 **SV: Well, starting the journey. Trixie said last time I was doing too much backstory.**

 **K: Where is she, anyway?**

 **P: I'm… not actually sure.**

 **SV: I'm sure she'll turn up. Anyway, don't own Pokemon, now go read.**

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 3 years, 2 months.***

* * *

Ashley was walking back home from Oaks, moving slowly. The red jewel on her bracelet flickered lightly, like a flame, while the crystal from the Tree of Beginning flashed like sunlight on water. She treasured both gifts, one from her family in Sinnoh, and the other from her tutor Mew, when she had started to learn about her family's heritage. The jewel was more sentimental than anything, reminding her of the good times she'd had at home, despite the fact that the others had never been able to visit. They'd written, though, which was nice. The crystal, on the other hand, was somewhat more valuable, as she could use it to send a sort of message to the whole crystal it had come from, letting Mew know if she was in trouble. It was quite comforting, in a way, to know that one of the most powerful legendary Pokemon would come to her when asked. Although, she'd never call Mew unless the situation was life threatening. She was too rare a Pokemon to be called frequently. Ashley neared her house, and picked up the pace, almost running back the last little while. She hadn't spent any time with her friends today, only the Pokemon the Professor had there. Over the last few years, she had mostly perfected her ability to use Aura passively, and was really grateful for the fact she could translate Pokemon with it. The ability had been helpful for Professor Oak as well, helping to figure out what was wrong with certain Pokemon. The Professor had been told a little later on, when he had wanted to know what was causing the small bangs from her clearing. It was mostly her practising her attacks with Mew or the Beasts. She could also use telepathy with her aura, but it required a lot of concentration and close contact with the person or Pokemon she was trying to talk too, so it wasn't the most effective. She could do it easier with Mew, since she was a powerful Psychic, but most others took too much concentration. She hoped that, with time, it would be easier. She found it slightly better with those she was close friends with, but not much. Ashley slowed down to a walk, pushing open the door to her house and walked in, locking the door behind her.

' _Aunt Delia, I'm back.'_ She said telepathically, eyes closed in concentration. She heard her aunt open the back door, and called into the house.

"Hello Ashley!" She replied aloud, as Ashley walked into the back room. "How's your day been?"

"Fine." She said. "I helped the Professor to deal with a young Pokemon who was quite shy around humans. I asked a few of my friends to help out."

"How's training going, then?"

"The same as usual. Aura Sphere is a little faster, and I'm more working on the power again. Shielding is a bit tricky while trying to fight, especially when there's pressure on the shield. I asked a trainers Victreebel to help by firing Razor Leaf's at it, while I needed to build up an Aura Sphere. It's a little draining, but definitely better than when we first started practising."

"I guess so." Delia bustled around the room, getting things out of cupboards and starting to cook. "Practise makes perfect, I suppose."

"Well, after tomorrow I'll need to be careful of where I train. After all, I won't have a reserved place to stay so no one gets hurt."

"Speaking of which…" Delia moved around, handing a plate to Ashley. "Are you ready to go tomorrow?"

"I think so. I'll finish packing up everything in a minute, then maybe watch a lecture or something on TV." She shrugged. "I've got almost everything ready. I need to get my sketch stuff, mostly."

"I'm sure you'll come back with it filled with interesting Pokemon." Delia said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Aunt Delia, I'll be fine. I'll get the gym badges and be back before you know it."

"Yes, but then you'll be off again, on your next trip." She sighed. "Oh well, I'm sure you'll have fun."

"Of course I will." She smiled, finishing the last of her food. "I'll go and finish my packing." She stood quickly and walked to her room.

* * *

The next day, Ashley was awake almost before sunrise. This was no longer that unusual, as since she had started her Aura training she often woke up early. Although, it being spring, it wasn't as early as she'd have liked. More like nine o'clock.

"Dang it." She muttered. "I'm going to be late." She quickly hopped up and got ready, picking up the stuffed bag on her way out.

"Hello dear." Delia said, already awake and cooking. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. I'm going to be a bit late though." She replied, sitting down.

"That shouldn't be a problem. It's honestly unlikely that you'll be the last anyway. And either way, you've waited an extra three months, so it's unlikely the Professor will make you wait any longer."

"I hope you're right." Ashley said, quickly eating her breakfast. She picked up her things, a bit of which had been sitting on the table, and ran out the door, closing it behind her. She dashed off to Professor Oak's, only to see that there was a crowd in front of the building. She slowed to a walk, then spotted a familiar face among them. She groaned slightly, and walked along the edge of the crowd and trying not to get noticed. It didn't work, and once she was nearer to the lab, and old 'friend' spotted her.

"Hey look, it's little Ashley! Finally here for a Pokemon?"

"No Gary, I'm just here to talk with them." Ashley replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, good luck with that. I just got the best Pokemon ever!" Gary bragged.

 _Oh for Mew's sake, not this again._ Ashley sighed quietly. _I swear, he is either a kind and somewhat nerdy grandson of a researcher, or a complete idiot._ Huffing slightly, Ashley replied carefully, refusing to rise to his jab. "Well congratulations. Good luck with your journey. I'm going to go and start mine." She turned away, disregarding the insult that followed, and walked into the lab.

"Good morning Ashley! How are you?" The Professor said cheerfully.

"I swear, if Gary doesn't get his act together, he's going to end up getting slapped." She sighed.

"Bragging again?" He asked, to a nod. "I've told him time and time again to stop that, and he never listens. Maybe the league will beat some sense into him."

"I sure hope so." Ashley shook her head. "Anyway, Pokemon?"

"Ah, yes. That may cause a problem." Oak frowned. "You see, Gary just took the last one."

"Really?" Ashley said. "Damn it. Oh well, I can wait a little while longer."

"Actually, I may have a solution. I have a spare Pokemon that I caught the other day. It was messing around in the yard and annoyed a few Pokemon. It's not very fond of humans, sadly, but I think you should be fine with it, thanks to your teachers." Oak told her.

"Well, ok then." She shrugged. "I'll give it a go." Discreetly, she powered a little bit of Aura into her hands. Not enough to be useable, not yet, but enough to quickly throw up a shield or an Aura Sphere if needed. It gave her a quicker build up if she already had Aura ready to use. Oak didn't seem to notice, and picked up a standard red and white Pokeball.

"Watch out." Oak pressed the release button and the Pokeball popped open. A small shape formed on the ground, and Ashley looked at it.

"A Pikachu." She stated quietly. It looked around, gathering it's barings, and she stepped forward carefully. As she did, she changed the way the Aura channeled to her hands acted. Before, it had been ready to take a shape, a shield or sphere, or take energy from an attack. Now it was less solid, flowing more like the blue fire it looked like when flaring, instead of a semi solid flow wrapped around her. This was not unlike what she used to make the translate trick work, using Aura to change the words she was hearing to a language she could understand. She didn't know exactly how that worked, but it did. This was charged with emotions, letting her sense the ones of others, as well as show hers. It was a little tricky to deal with, as she had to charge emotions to the aura without letting it destabilize. She placed her hand on it's head, carefully avoiding the sparks that had started to jump from its cheeks. It flinched away for a second, then pressed his head against her hand.

"Hello." She said quietly. "How are you?"

' _ **This human is being annoying.'**_ He replied. ' _ **Why are you here?'**_

"I'm supposed to be starting as a trainer today, but I came too late to get a Pokemon. The Professor said I could try with you, if I wanted. What do you think?"

' _ **Sure! I've wanted to travel for a while. I'll start with you.'**_

"Great to hear. My name's Ashley."

' _ **I'm just Pikachu. Can you keep me out of that ball thing please? I don't like being trapped in there.'**_

"Of course." She lifted her hand and held out her arm, letting Pikachu climb to her shoulder. She turned back to the Professor. "I'll take Pikachu with me."

"Ok then." Oak turned to the computer system next to him and typed a few things in. It beeped, and she handed her a red computer and a few Pokeballs. "You know most things about Pokemon, so I'm sure you don't really need this, but it could be useful anyway. Anyway, I assume you'll be doing the gym challenge as well?" At a nod, he continued. "You need eight badges to get into the Pokemon League. I suggest going to Pewter first, as that houses a gym. Good luck!"

* * *

There wasn't a crowd outside like there had been for Gary, so Ashley just went straight for the forest on the edge of Route 1. Ashley stopped, placing her bag on the ground.

' _ **What's up?'**_

"I want to try and get some training done. From what I can remember, the gym in Pewter is Rock type, so that will be a problem until we get some more Pokemon. I do know how to teach you Iron Tail, though, so if you want you can start on that."

' _ **That sounds great. How do we start?'**_ Ashley giggled slightly.

"Well, we need to strengthen your tail to get the Steel conversion trick. That's what my teachers said."

' _ **So, what? Just hit rocks with my tail?'**_

"Pretty much. While you do that, I want to try something myself. First, can you channel some electricity to your paws?" At Pikachu's confused look, she elaborated. "I need to get the feel for electrical energy to try changing my aura type. Over the last three years I've been training, we only worked with my neutral typed aura, for things like translating, air manipulation, and attacks. Now it could be more useful to get these tricks going, so I'll start with my own training."

* * *

A little over two hours later, Ashley had slowly managed to change the type of her aura, causing it to change to a yellow colour, like Pikachu was. Pikachu was able to get his tail to steel for a few moments, but not quite long enough to be useful for a proper attack. It was a similar problem to Ashley's aura; they could get it going, but not quick enough or for long enough to use it effectively. Pikachu was lying next to Ashley, who was sitting next to a tree.

"Hey, I just thought of something." Pikachu looked up at his new trainer curiously. "How would you like a nickname? Just in case we run into any other Pikachu?"

' _ **Sure.'**_ He replied, sitting up and hopping over to sit in front of her. She hummed over a few names in her mind, before settling on one that she liked.

"What about Volta?"

' _ **Hmm…'**_ He hummed, before nodding. ' _ **Sure, sounds cool!'**_

"Actually, that reminds me. I should scan you with my Pokedex." She pulled the little red computer out of her bag and pointed it at him.

'Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon and the evolved form of Pichu. This Pokemon has electricity storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night when Pikachu sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up. This Pikachu is male and has the ability Lightningrod. This Pokemon has the moves Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip and Iron Tail. It also has the egg move Volt Tackle, though this has not been unlocked.'

"That's a pretty good move set. We should try and work on Volt Tackle once you learn Thunder, as it's a pretty powerful move. I don't know much about training Pokemon, what I was taught was more general knowledge, but we can work it out together."

' _ **That's fine. So long as you're a kind trainer I'll respect that.'**_

"Thanks Volta. Now, let's get moving to Viridian City. I don't feel like camping for tonight."

' _ **Ok then.'**_ Volta stood up and ran up to her shoulder again, and Ashley stood. She picked up her bag, shouldering it. Volta looked up. ' _ **I think there's a storm coming in. I can feel the electricity.'**_

"Let's go quickly, then. I don't want to be caught in the storm." Ashley started to walk quickly. "Actually, feel like trying to learn Agility or Quick Attack? Running alongside should be good practise to try and get the speed right."

' _ **Sounds like a plan.'**_ Volta jumped off Ashley's sleeve and landed on the ground perfectly. ' _ **I'll try and stay at the same pace.'**_

"Go on ahead if you want. Just try not to get lost." He nodded, and picked up a sprint, climbing up a tree and jumping from branch to branch. Ashley chuckled quietly, and started walking faster to catch up.

* * *

It was only half an hour later that Volta reappeared at her side.

' _ **Two things. One, I got both Agility and Quick Attack down. Two, the storm will be here in about two minutes.'**_

"Damn. We won't be making it in time then."

' _ **As much as I hate it, should I go in my Pokeball? My Lightningrod will draw in any lightning, which could be a problem.'**_

"Well, if you stay out of the trees, that shouldn't be an issue. The trees are taller than you."

' _ **Righty-oh. I'll stay right here.'**_ As he said that, thunder pealed across the forest. A few drops of rain started to plink against the ground. ' _ **Huh. Didn't think it'd be that fast.'**_

"Let's pick up the pace then. I don't want to be on here for longer than necessary." She started running, and Volta followed, easily keeping pace with Agility. They spotted a cave, and headed for it, deciding to wait out the storm in there, under cover.

* * *

An hour later, the rain began to pitter out. Volta poked his head out of the cave, sniffing around. He also waved his tail in the air, before nodding to Ashley.

' _ **It's over. The remnant electricity is fading, so the storm won't be coming back.'**_

"Good. Let's go." She stepped out of the cave as well, and Volta climbed onto her shoulder again. "Hang on a moment." She closed her eyes and activated her Aura Sight, looking around the nearby area for Pokemon. Ashley sighed, frustrated, as she opened them again. "Never mind. I was trying to see if there were any Pokemon nearby that we could try and catch, but no luck. They must all be hiding from the storm still." As the remaining blue faded, her head snapped up. "What on earth...?" She closed her eyes again, looking more intensely at a spot in the sky.

' _ **What's wrong?'**_

"There's a really strong aura over there. And getting closer…"

' _ **From what I remember, Aura has colours that reflect types, right? What colour is it?'**_

"Red and sky blue." She said, still staring at the spot. "And... two smaller auras too. One the same colour, and the other is sky blue and pink."

' _ **Interesting… and you say they're smaller?'**_

"Yeah. Young Pokemon have smaller aura signatures than the adults. It comes from the experience."

' _ **So, is it likely that it's a Meema and hatchlings?'**_

"Could be." She opened her eyes again, and the sound of wings caught her attention. "I guess it's just flying overhead."

' _Not quite, youngling.'_ A feminine voice resounded in her head. Volta nearly fell of her shoulder.

' _ **Who said that?'**_ He questioned, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Telepathy." Ashley replied quietly. She somewhat recognised the voice, or she felt like she should. A musical chuckle followed.

' _It seems what my sons and daughter said was correct. You are a very smart individual.'_ Both Ashley's and Volta's jaws dropped as the source of the telepathy flew overhead, and alighted next to them. Ho-oh peered at her. ' _It would indeed seem that their recommendations were well founded.'_ Ashley got over her shock much quicker than Volta, who had actually fallen off her shoulder now, having had four legendaries visit her home often over the last five years, and bowed to Ho-oh.

"Good afternoon, Lady Ho-oh. What brings you here?" Ho-oh chuckled again.

' _Now, I thought Suicune told you that we didn't like such formalities. And the reason I'm here is because of the basket I carry.'_

' _ **Ashley?'**_ Volta interrupted, sounding unsettled. ' _ **At what point were you going to mention that you were friends with Ho-oh and Suicune?'**_

"I was waiting until we camped. Before we decided we weren't going to." Ashley shrugged.

' _And in fact, this is our first time meeting. Ashley has talked with all three of mine multiple times since she came to Kanto. And as for Mew… She hardly stops talking about her when we have our meetings.'_ By this point, Volta looked like he was about to faint, so Ashley turned the subject away from her legendary friends.

"If you don't mind, what _is_ in that basket?"

' _Ahh, this is special. I had to asked my counterpart in Johto for this, after my children's recommendation. It was quite a surprise, but given what I know of your history, and that of your ancestors…'_ She shrugged. ' _I'd say that you're perfect for this role. However, you must take very good care of them.'_ Ashley was now thoroughly confused, as Ho-oh lowered her head and placed the basket in front of her. She gasped. Lying in the basket were two eggs. One was white, with a blue crest along the one side, and the other was predominantly red, with a rainbow band of colours around the center.

"You… really trust me that much?" She said, in a hushed voice.

' _Of course. You have interacted well with Suicune, Raikou and Entei over the years, and Mew is full of praise. Along with that, you have a natural talent in Aura, and managed to earn the respect of a Lucario in less than a month. If anyone is worthy of these, it is you. One is my own, as you might have guessed, and the other belongs to the Lugia of Johto and Shamouti. We expect you to take good care of them.'_

"Of course I will Ho-oh. I won't use them in any competitions for a while after they hatch. I need them to be properly trained first. If people know I have them, then all manner of people will come after me. I don't want them stolen."

' _I see that their trust in you was well founded. Very well. I shall take my leave. Once you reach Johto, feel free to come and visit the Tin Tower. I will be waiting.'_ With that, Ho-oh spread her wings and lifted off into the air, flying west and leaving the basket at Ashley's feet. As she flew, a feather fell from her plumage and floated down next to Ashley. She picked it up absently, still too amazed at the gift she had been given. She carefully picked up the basket, mindful of the eggs, and turned to Volta. He was staring at her, shocked.

"Ready to go?" She asked him.

' _ **I… sure.'**_ He shook his head and climbed back to her shoulder, also wary of the eggs. ' _ **I'm sure I'll be over that in a few hours.'**_

"I'll bet. Come on, let's get to Viridian. I want to get the eggs looked at the Pokemon Centre, along with you." She started walking to the city, heading north.

* * *

 **AN: That took ages.**

 **K: You got that right.**

 **P: Hey, you don't think Ashley will be too OP, right? I mean, she just got two legendary Pokemon eggs.**

 **SV: I said at the beginning that she'd be a little OP, but the difficulty will ramp up as we go. Anyway, she won't really use the little legendaries until the Orange Islands or Johto. They won't hatch for quite a while, and she wants to train them properly, like I said, so they'd be ready for when she finally reveals them.**

 **K: Also, legendaries don't have eggs.**

 **SV: I don't care enough. This is fanfiction, damnit, so there!**

 **P: Adding to things that don't make sense, for a Palletshipping fic, what happened to Gary?**

 **SV: A combo of laziness, horrible writing, and the fact that I** _ **hate**_ **early Gary. He sits up there with Cilan's food references and Brock's gimmick by Sinnoh. He'll make mostly normal anime appearances until later, maybe sometime Johto he'll show up more.**

 **K: I have a question. What happened to Misty? You said when we arrived that she and Brock would appear.**

 **SV: First, quiet so you don't spoil anything. Second, I'm re-writing Misty's first appearance, so she doesn't follow Ashley just because of the stupid bike. I hated that idea. And I'm fixing Brock too. Less annoying Brock!**

 **P: That's probably for the best.**

 **K: Going along with that, Aura. Will they find out? Or do you have a plan?**

 **SV: I think they'll find out. How, I'm not sure. I still need to re-watch most the original anime episodes to remember what happened. Maybe I'll do something with the SS Anne. I remember that episode pretty clearly.**

 **K: Ok. I think that's everything.**

 **P: Actually, where the heck is Trixie? She just disappeared!**

 **SV: She'll be back by next chapter, I'm sure of that. She's probably setting up a prank or something.**

 **K: I really hope not. Remember what she started coming up with once we got Mew Games to be a common occurrence when we wrote the Child of Mew backups?**

 **P: I remember perfectly. I'm just going to hope that she hasn't decided to go to an anime store or something. Any idea she can get from there is not a good one.**

 **T: *Phasing out of the shadows.* Oh reeeeeaaallllyyy?**

 **K: *Breathing heavily.* Where did you come from?!**

 **T: Robyn's. We've been trying some new things with illusions. Want to see some of them?**

 **SV: No. We don't have time.**

 **P: We'll see you all next time.**


	5. Kanto 2

**AN: Hi guys. Trix's grounded.**

 **K: What happened after I left?**

 **P: The legendary birds were flying around for a half hour. I don't know if you noticed the semi melted ice rink outside, but that happened.**

 **SV: Yeah, so she's grounded. We won't see her for a while.**

 **K: Great! What're we up to this time?**

 **P: Viridian City, and stuff. I don't really know much, it's Trix that reads all the notes, not me.**

 **SV: Yeah, Pix tends to just work as we go.**

 **K: Anyhow, don't own Pokemon, onto the story!**

* * *

Ashley walked into Viridian City a few hours after the meeting with Ho-oh, so it was already getting darker. Volta was running along the ground next to her, humming something as he walked. It was quite clear that he was happy that Ashley was such a flexible trainer.

"Volta, you want to come up here? You must be tired."

' _ **I am a bit, yeah.'**_ He climbed up to her shoulder, using her hair to steady himself. ' _ **Thanks for the lift.'**_

"Don't worry about it bud. You're my friend." Even without her focusing her aura to look around, she could feel how happy that statement made him. She looked around for a moment, not recognising the different design of the Centres in Kanto, and walked straight to the Pokemon Centre when she saw it. The nurse at the desk looked up as she came in, but other than that it was empty.

"Hello, how can I help you?"

"Can you give my Pikachu a look over, please? And also, I have a couple of eggs if you don't mind giving them a quick checkup?"

"Of course not." Volta jumped down from her shoulder again, and Ashley placed the basket with the two eggs on the counter next to him. "If you can go and wait over there," She gestured to the waiting area. "I'll call you over when I'm done."

"Thank you." She replied. She went and sat on one of the chairs, leaning against the wall. Out of habit, she checked that there was no-one around, and brought her hand to the crystal that sat on a chain.

' _Hey, Mew? Can you set up a telepathic link please? I want to talk.'_ She knew it would take a moment for the Tree to respond the the message, so she waited for the somewhat familiar presence of Mew to appear in her head.

' _What's up Ash, trouble?'_ Ashley chuckled quietly at the nickname.

' _If it were trouble, I would have said so already. No, I just started my journey today. Thanks for the mini pocket dimension, by the way. It's really helpful to keep all my stuff in.'_

' _Oh yes, I forgot about that. The pocket dimension is no problem. Who did you get as a starter?'_

' _A Pikachu I named Volta. That not the only thing I want to talk about.'_

' _Well, what is? Is Volta giving you trouble?'_

' _No, just the fact that Ho-oh landed next to us, said I had been recommended by Raikou, Entei and Suicune, and gave me a Ho-oh and Lugia egg.'_

' _Wait, really? I didn't realise they meant it.'_

' _You knew? Why didn't you tell me?'_

' _They mentioned it after the last meeting. I wasn't sure if they'd do it though.'_

' _Talking of meetings, Ho-oh said that you talk about me a lot at meetings. How come?'_

' _There is a reason, but I want to talk about it face to face. I'll come meet you at some point, don't worry.'_ The mental conversation was stopped by Nurse Joy coming out to the desk.

"Ashley Ketchum, your Pokemon are healed."

' _Gotta go, see you soon!'_ She replied to Mew, walking over to the desk. Volta climbed onto her shoulder, and Joy handed two incubators with the eggs over.

"Everyone's fine."

"Thanks Nurse Joy. Can I get a room for the night?"

"Of course you can dear." Joy handed a key over to her. "You can use room 7."

"Excuse me." Someone said behind Ashley. She moved out of the way, letting a red haired girl past. "Can you check on my Goldeen please?"

"Of course I can." Joy took her Pokeball from her and walked around to the back. While she was doing this, Ashley put the incubators into her bag, again thanking Mew for the personal pocket dimension that it was connected too. Volta's ears started twitching, which Ashley recognised to be what they did when they felt something unusual. Mew had taken her on a field trip once, to a forest in Almia, as a pair of Pachirisu. She had been a shiny one, and they had played around with a group of Pikachu.

"What's wrong bud?" She asked, looking at him.

' _ **I think there's someone coming.'**_ He replied, looking around. Ashley glanced around the room too, and at the sound of glass shattering looked up sharply. A Koffing and Ekans appeared from Pokeballs which came through the broken window in the ceiling. Despite knowing exactly what they were, she scanned them with her Pokedex.

'Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokemon. Koffing embodies toxic substances. It mixes the toxins with raw garbage to set off a chemical reaction that results in a terribly powerful poison gas. The higher the temperature, the more gas is concocted by this Pokemon.'

'Ekans, the Snake Pokemon. Ekans curls itself up in a spiral while it rests. Assuming this position allows it to quickly respond to a threat from any direction with a glare from its upraised head.' As she was scanning them, the Koffing had been letting out a Smokescreen, so she started up an Aura slip trick to keep her from getting choked. She kept the glow as low as she could, though. She didn't want everyone to know she could use Aura. The girl next to her couldn't, of course, and started coughing.

"What… What on earth?" She coughed out.

"Prepare for trouble." A woman started.

"And make it double." A man continued.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

"What the heck?" Ashley muttered. _Team Rocket…_ Ashley thought back carefully, reviewing everything Mew and the Beasts had said. Then she remembered.

"Who are they?" The redhead next to her asked.

"Team Rocket are a group of people who steal people's Pokemon to use for evil." Ashley answered her.

"Well, someone's smart." The woman… Jessie, right? Jessie replied.

"You're quite correct." James continued.

"An' now, we're takin' all da Pokemon!" The Meowth finished.

"A talking Pokemon?" The other trainer gasped.

"That doesn't matter." Ashley said quickly. "We need to stop them. Volta, ready?"

' _ **Of course I am. Let's send them flying!'**_ He said, jumping down and getting into a battle stance.

"I'll help out. Starmie, let's go!"

' _ **Right!'**_ It said.

"Koffing, Tackle the Pikachu!" James commanded.

"Ekans, get the Starmie with Bite!" Jessie instructed.

"Volta, jump away with Agility. Then come back in with Quick Attack and knock it away."

"Starmie, Swift!" The two Pokemon seemed to work on a plan. Volta sent Koffing crashing into the Ekans, canceling his attack and getting them tangled. Starmie's attack then connected, which knocked them back towards the team.

"Does your Starmie have Thunderbolt?"

"Yes, why?"

"Let's send them blasting away. Volta, move away and use Thundershock!"

"Right. Starmie, Thunderbolt!" Both of the electric attacks collided, and a few of the sparks hit the gas Koffing released, causing them to explode.

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off!" They shouted, flying out of the window they had entered from.

"Thank you!" Nurse Joy said. "You protected the Pokemon. Thank you so much!"

"It's not a problem." Ashley assured her, as Volta climbed back to her shoulder.

"I'm just happy to help." The other girl said, returning her Starmie.

"Still, thank you so much!" Joy handed a Pokeball to the girl. "Here's your Goldeen back."

"Thank you." She smiled. The girl turned to Ashley. "We made a pretty good team."

"That's true." She replied, patting Volta on the head. "What's your name?"

"I'm Misty. I'm a Water type specialist."

"I'm Ashley. My goal is to be a great Pokemon Master." She introduced herself. "And this is my starter, Volta."

' _ **Hello there!'**_ He waved.

"He was really quite powerful. How long have you been together?"

"We just met today." She replied, and Volta nuzzled her cheek.

"Wow." Misty said, surprised. "I'd have thought you'd have known each other much longer. You seem great friends."

"I've always been good with Pokemon." She smiled.

' _ **You're friends with four legendary Pokemon, met Ho-oh on your first day as a trainer, and have two legendary Pokemon eggs.'**_ Volta chuckled. ' _ **I'd say you made a good impression.'**_ He then yawned.

"I think I'm going to go up to my room now. Someone's tired." She smiled at Misty, and walked up to her room.

' _ **Can I stay outside?'**_

"Of course bud. I know you don't like the Pokeball." As she turned the corner, she missed Misty looking at her strangely.

 _That's odd. It's almost like she understood what her Pikachu said._ She frowned. _But, no one can understand Pokemon perfectly, right?_ She shook her head, and headed to her own room.

* * *

The next morning, Ashley woke up as early as she normally did. She rolled out of bed, careful not to wake up Volta, and started her warm ups for Aura. While in cities, she wouldn't be able to do the entire set up, but she did the practises with things like Aura Sphere and Force Palm, along with some of the tricks. After she had finished, an hour had passed, and Volta started shifting. She looked up from her palm, where she was trying to generate electrical energy with as little Aura as she could to see if she could get moves like Thundershock and the like working. He yawned, stretching, and looked over at her.

' _ **Morning.'**_ He said, bouncing off the bed.

"Hey little bud." She replied, abandoning her practise for the time. "Had a good night?"

' _ **Yeah. How long have you been up?'**_

"About an hour." At his surprised look, she elaborated. "I've been waking up like this since I was seven. My Aura trainer wanted me too."

' _ **Who trained you? One of your legendary friends?'**_

"No, the only legends I've met are the Beasts, Ho-oh and Mew. Mew managed to get her friend from the Lucario Kingdom to come to Kanto for a month and start my training."

' _ **Ok. My new trainer is an Aura adept who is friends with several Legendary Pokemon. This is going to be an exciting journey.'**_

"I know right?" Ashley stood up and held her arm to the Pikachu, who took it. "Let's run. I want to get to Pewter City as soon as I can."

' _ **Will we catch anything in the forest?'**_

"We might. Bug types are the main thing in the area, and they aren't too good against Rock types, but you won't be able to do the gym all by yourself."

' _ **Ok.'**_ The two walked downstairs to the main room of the centre, talking all the way about what they would do. Ashley left the eggs with Nurse Joy again to make sure they were alright. She was taking the safety of them _very_ seriously. While she was waiting, the girl from the night before, Misty, had come over to the desk as well.

"Morning." Ashley greeted her.

"Hello." Misty said.

' _ **Hello Misty!'**_ Volta greeted cheerfully. Misty reached over to pet him, and he jumped onto the desk to move closer to her.

"What are you planning?" Misty asked, as Volta leaned into her hand.

"I'll probably go into the Viridian Forest and get moving to Pewter." She replied. Carefully, she moved her head slightly, so as to be able to use her Aura Sight without Misty getting suspicious. As she watched, the girls plain human aura changed, betraying her fear and disgust at the mention of the forest.

"Oh. Do you mind if I join you? I'm heading back to my home town, and the forest is the fastest route." Ashley moved her hair back, and answered.

"Sure. The more the merrier." Volta nodded his approval.

"Thanks. Where are you from?"

"Pallet Town. I moved there from Sinnoh when I was five. What about you?"

"I'm from Cerulean. How come you moved?" Ashley looked awkward for a moment, not wanting to answer, but luckily for her, Nurse Joy came back with the eggs in their incubators.

"The eggs are both perfectly fine."

"Thanks Nurse Joy." She took both the incubators and put them carefully into her bag, one after the other, and shouldered it again. Volta went back to his place on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. "I'm going to be heading off now. Thank you for your help Nurse Joy." She said, handing back the key to her room.

"It isn't a problem." She smiled back. "Be careful though."

"Of course I will." She replied. Ashley then turned to Misty. "Come on, I want to get through that forest quickly."

"So do I." Misty admitted. The two of them left town, talking a little about their hometowns. Ashley tried to keep the conversation away from Sinnoh as best she could, but Misty asked eventually. "What's Sinnoh like?"

"It's really cold. I was sort of used to it, but I lived in the southern end, so it was a little warmer. My aunt and cousins live in the far north though, and it's freezing up there. It's almost always covered in snow, and the main Pokemon you find are Ice types."

"I guess I can see why you would move to Kanto. It must be quite a lot warmer than back there." Misty said thoughtfully.

"It is a bit, yeah." She went quiet for a moment, still missing Sinnoh, even though Kanto was more like home now. She looked up sharply at the quiet fluttering of wings, and Volta looked too. She closed one eye, using Aura to look for the source, and saw the aura signature of a Normal and Flying type, getting closer.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked, not hearing the sound yet.

"Some kind of Flying type, heading straight towards us." By now, they had stopped at the edge of the forest, and the two new travellers were searching the sky. Misty heard the sound too, and looked up as well, though she was very confused.

 _She heard the sound before I did. It almost looked like she did before her Pikachu, too. How did she do that?_ As all three looked, the source of the noise came into view. A bronze coloured bird flew overhead, circling a few times, then dove towards the trio. Ashley gasped.

"It's Strike! What's he doing in Kanto?"

"Strike?" Misty asked. Ashley was about to reply, but the shiny Staraptor landed in front of Ashley and cooed.

' _ **Message for you Ashley!'**_ He said, nudging her. She giggled, then went to his side and opened the little bag attached to him. Inside was a letter with her name on it.

' _ **Who's this from?'**_ Volta asked, as she opened the message.

" _Dear Ashley, how've you been? Sorry about not writing for a few months, I've been a little busy. First, the move to Unova I was talking about last time happened, so I've moved into my new house in Unova. If you come here on your journey, stop by Nacrene City and visit. I also started working with Professor Juniper there, in Nuvema Town. She likes to research the Pokemon I bought with me from Sinnoh. Anyway, she asked me to research Ghost type behaviour, so I've been traveling through different regions to places that are well known for having a lot of Ghost types. I'm on a boat heading to Johto from Hoenn, so by the time you read this I should have gotten to Johto. I'll be coming to Kanto soon enough, once I finish my work here, so I might run into you. I hope to see you soon. I got a new X-transceiver too, so you can call me if you want. It's the same number as the last one. If you don't mind, keep Strike with you for a while to let him have a small rest. He can fly back to me pretty quickly whenever he wants to. Bye! Crysta."_

"Who's Crysta?" Misty asked, reading the letter over her shoulder.

"She's a friend of my cousins." Ashley answered. "Another one from the north."

"She's a researcher?"

"Not at first. She was a trainer, hence Strike, but she mentioned that she was moving to Unova the last time she wrote, about three months ago. She also mentioned that she wanted to help Professor Juniper, the regional professor there, but still continue her journey."

' _ **We will be doing that too. Crysta said we would be continuing in order to help research Pokemon from other regions.'**_ Strike told her.

"Has Strike been delivering these letters from Sinnoh every time?"

"No. They did a gym challenge a few years back, then had a gap year that was just training in… I think Hoenn?" She glanced at the bird, who nodded. "They didn't do the League there, but Strike took delivering messages as a training challenge and started flying between the regions as a messenger. When they went back to Sinnoh for a second go at the League, Strike would keep doing it from time to time. I think he still considered it training, so whenever he wasn't needed, he was a messenger." Behind her, Strike nodded his head, validating her words. "They didn't do the League this year either, as Crysta was too busy organising the move."

' _ **Talking about the move, do you mind if I stay while you pass through this forest? I'll leave when you get to the next city. I just need a bit of a rest before I head to Johto.'**_

"Do you want to stay?" Ashley asked, phrasing it in a way so it seemed like she didn't understand Pokemon and inclining her head to Misty in an attempt to get Strike to reply in the same way.

' _ **If you don't mind, yeah.'**_ He cawed, nodding. ' _ **It was a fairly long flight.'**_

"Right, let's head through." Ashley said. Misty shook herself, and nodded.

* * *

After being in the forest for ten minutes, Ashley learned something quite important about Misty. She hated bugs. For the most part, the bug types had stayed away when Strike was around, but he liked to fly above the trees and guide them. Despite the fact that this was supposed to be a rest, that is. Whenever Strike was above the trees, bug types seemed to be everywhere. Along with Misty's screaming. The second a bug type appeared anywhere near her, she screamed and went running off somewhere until Strike bought her back. Ashley's patience was already wearing thin, and they might be in the forest for a long time, even with Strike's help being their guide. Volta had run off as well, exploring the area and jumping around on the trees. She caught sight of him from time to time, went he would pop back up to keep track of where they were so he could find them again. Though it wasn't exactly necessary, as he could just look for the giant shiny Staraptor in the sky. Volta bounced back into the area she was in, and she glanced over and held up her arm as he jumped, giving him a spot to land.

' _ **Hey Ashley?'**_

"Yes bud?" She whispered back.

' _ **How do you think the human professor will react when your mom tells him about the eggs?'**_ Ashley stifled a grin. She had called her aunt on the X-transceiver last night and quietly told her about the encounter with Ho-oh. She had been surprised, but considering the five years of four legendaries visiting the nearby lab every week or so, she took it well. She had promised to tell Professor Oak for her today, to save her from repeating it again and risking someone overhearing and trying to steal them. Not that they could, as the dimension was almost bottomless and needed the owner to bring what they wanted to the top.

"I'm not sure." She replied quietly. "The Professor shouldn't be too surprised, as he's had my four tutors appearing at the lab every week. Aunt Delia said she'll try and keep him from yelling about it though."

' _ **Your aunt?'**_

"Yeah. I mentioned the move from Sinnoh, and I live with my aunt here in Kanto."

' _ **What about your parents? Why don't you live with them? Are they still in Sinnoh?'**_ Ashley looked away uncomfortably, to try and hide the few tears that had started to well up in her eyes.

"No." She replied quietly, after a few moments silence. "Both my parents… are a long way away right now. Even further than Sinnoh."

' _ **Wow.'**_ He said, eyes sparkling. ' _ **Where are they then? That Unova place?'**_

"No." She said shortly. "I don't want to talk about it."

' _ **Why not? Is-'**_

"I _said_ I don't want to talk about it." She growled, so violently that Volta jumped off her arm in shock. "Now leave me alone." She stormed off as Misty and Strike reentered the area. Strike and Misty looked at her retreating figure, confused.

"Where's she going?"

' _ **I don't know.'**_ Volta said with a shrug, despite the fact that the other human didn't understand him. ' _ **I asked where her parents were, and she got all angry.'**_ Strike paled slightly.

' _ **You didn't, did you?'**_

' _ **Yes?'**_ He replied uncertainly. ' _ **Is that a problem?'**_

' _ **Yes. Very much so.'**_ He spread his wings and started hovering. ' _ **I'll go get her. Stay with Misty, try and keep her from running away. It's hard to find her sometimes.'**_ He took to the sky, breaking through the tree layer in moments.

"What's happening?" Misty asked. Volta shrugged, and climbed up to her shoulder. "I guess we should follow?" She continued, looking to the mouse. Volta shook his head and pointed to the path.

* * *

A little while further, Ashley was sitting in the top of a tree, crying lightly. She knew it wasn't Volta's fault, as he didn't know anything about what had happened five years ago, but it still hurt to be asked so bluntly. She stared at the small fire red stone on her wrist, the small reminder of Sinnoh and the only one she currently had with her. It flickered, going between red and bright blue randomly as Ashley started to lose control of her aura because of her emotions. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down so she didn't cause a small explosion. The flicking coat started to fade, leaving the red jewel sitting untouched. A small cawing noise drew her attention, and she looked up to see her friends bird perch carefully on a short branch next to her. He leaned over and tapped her face.

' _ **Are you ok?'**_

"Yeah… yeah, I'm ok." She said.

' _ **Sure?'**_ She nodded. ' _ **Good. I'm sorry about how blunt that was. Volta didn't know, and naturally was curious, given how much you avoided it.'**_

"I know. I don't blame him."

' _ **That's good. Come on, I'll fly us back.'**_ He hopped over to a branch closer to her and let her slide onto his back. He rose quietly, and they brushed around the trees above. He started a silent glide back, occasionally flapping his wings to gain height, when a piercing screech echoed. Ashley turned to the sound.

"What was that?"

' _ **I'm not sure. It sounded like a bird Pokemon. Shall we investigate?'**_

"Sounds like a good idea. It could be in pain." She held on tight to Strike's neck as he did a loop to reposition himself in the correct direction. "Go fast." He nodded, and they dashed off to the sound.

* * *

A few moments later, they spotted a small clearing. Strike circled above, and saw a group of Spearow pecking viciously at something.

"Well, I think we found our injured bird." Ashley noted.

' _ **Indeed. How shall I get rid of the Spearow?'**_

"Hang on." She pulled out her Pokedex and scanned the bird she was flying on.

'Staraptor, the Predator Pokemon and the evolved form of Staravia. The muscles in its wings and legs are strong. It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokemon. This Staraptor is male with the ability Intimidate. This Pokemon has the moves Close Combat, Steel Wing, Ominous Wind, Whirlwind, Brave Bird, Roost and Heat Wave. Please note that the unusual colouration suggests that this Pokemon is a Shiny Pokemon.'

"Right. Strike, fly closer and use Heat Wave!" She instructed.

' _ **Right!'**_ He squawked, flipping over again and blowing hot air at the flock. The Spearow were blown away from what they were attacking, and glared at Strike.

' _ **Attack!'**_ One yelled, and a group of them charged the two. Strike looked back at Ashley.

"Use Whirlwind and Ominous Wind together, see if you can get a boost and knock them away. Then Steel Wing as many as you can."

' _ **What about you?'**_ He said, weaving the two attacks together.

"Don't worry. I can use Aura to drop safely. Also, shielding." She replied, creating a small Protect around her.

' _ **Right. Here we go!'**_ Strike broke off the attack, the Spearow flock clearly disorientated, and did his normal loop and dove at the flock, both wings glowing silver. Very few of the small birds noticed what was happening in time, but most were knocked away.

"Ok Strike. Land next to that Pokemon and blow them all away with Whirlwind!" She grinned. Strike flew low to the ground, letting Ashley jump off and land next to the Pokemon, before flapping his wings quickly to blow a huge gust of air at the flock of Spearow and sending them flying away. He alighted next to Ashley, who smiled. "Good work." She then crouched down next to the injured Pokemon. The young Pidgeotto eyed her warily, but said nothing.

' _ **She doesn't look great.'**_ Strike said. ' _ **Can you use Heal Pulse?'**_

"I know the theory." Ashley winced. "I'll fix what I can, but I'll need to get some potions out."

' _ **I think you should try the potions first. It wouldn't be a good idea to wear you out completely.'**_

"Good point." Ashley slipped her bag off her shoulder, and a few potions floated to the top of the bags pocket dimension. "Is that ok with you?" She asked softly.

' _ **Yes.'**_ The young bird hissed out.

"Ok. Sorry, but this'll sting a bit." She carefully sprayed the healing item on the wounds, making the Pokemon flinch in pain and shuffle around a bit.

' _ **Shall I go and get Misty and Volta for you?'**_ Strike cooed.

"I guess that would be good. I'll finish getting her healed." He nodded, and fluttered off, gliding around the forest to try and find their friends. Ashley turned back to the Pidgeotto. "How did you manage to anger that flock?"

' _ **I was just flying over the forest when they attacked me.'**_ Pidgeotto said. ' _ **I guess they thought I was an intruder.'**_

"I see." She remembered Entei's talks on Pokemon territories, and knew that the Spearow and Sharpedo families were some of the most violent. "Why weren't you with your flock? You're quite young to be flying alone."

' _ **I never really had a flock. I guess my egg got lost somehow, but I hatched alone and have been on my own since.'**_

"Oh, poor you." She said sadly. "That can't be nice."

' _ **Not really. But I've learned how to work on my own.'**_ The bird replied, with a slight shrug. Ashley was silent for a bit after that, focusing only on healing the Pokemon. After a few minutes, she stopped and looked her over.

"Right. I think I've gotten most of the bad injuries, but this is just to make sure I haven't missed anything." She carefully laid her hand on Pidgeottos side and started using Heal Pulse. Small flickers of Aura bounced around her, which betrayed her inexperience with the move. Still, it did it's job, and Pidgeotto stood up looking a lot better. Strike floated down with Misty and Volta on his back. He alighted next to Ashley and Misty slid off shakily, while Volta leapt right off Strike's head and into her arms.

' _ **Sorry!'**_ He yelled, nuzzling her face. ' _ **Sorry I was so blunt earlier! Strike told me what was wrong on the way, and I'm sorry for questioning you when it was clear you didn't want to talk!'**_

"Hey, it's ok. I don't blame you." She whispered back. "Don't worry about it. I shouldn't have yelled either."

' _ **Thank you.'**_ He said, nudging her face again before climbing up to her shoulder.

"Not a problem." She turned over to Misty. "Was the flight ok?"

"Yeah. It was a little odd though, I'm not used to flying."

"Yeah, I've had a while to get used to it." She smiled. "Are you ok?" She continued, turning back to Pidgeotto.

' _ **Yes, thanks to you.'**_ She nodded.

"That's good. Are you going to go now?" She questioned.

' _ **Well…'**_ She shuffled. ' _ **I don't have a flock to go back to, and I'd like to stay with you. But you clearly don't need another Flying type, with the Staraptor, so…'**_

' _ **Oh, I'm not her Pokemon.'**_ Strike told her. ' _ **My trainer is her friend from when she was in Sinnoh, and I sometimes deliver letters between them. I'm only here until they get to town, then I'm off back to Johto to meet with my trainer.'**_

' _ **Oh!'**_ Pidgeotto perked up. ' _ **Do you mind if I join you then?'**_

"You want to come with me?" Ashley asked, to a nod. "Sure!" She took out a Pokeball and threw it at the bird. It shook a few times, then clicked. "Neat!" She smiled, picking up the Pokeball. "We've got a new teammate!"

' _ **Yeah!'**_ Volta grinned.

"Congrats!" Misty said, patting her shoulder. "Good job."

"Thanks." She released the bird and clipped the Pokeball to her belt. She quickly scanned her.

'Pidgeotto, the Bird Pokemon and the evolved form of Pidgey. Pidgeotto claims a large area as its own territory. This Pokemon flies around, patrolling its living space. If its territory is violated, it shows no mercy in thoroughly punishing its foe with its sharp claws. This Pidgeotto is female and has the ability Keen Eye. This Pokemon knows the moves Tackle, Quick Attack, Sand Attack and Gust. It also has the egg move Pursuit, but this has not been unlocked yet.'

"Let's get moving, shall we?"

* * *

 **AN: And done!**

 **P: That was nice. I like Pidgeot in the anime.**

 **K: Agreed. I just wish Ash wasn't stupid and forgot about her.**

 **SV: I concur. Anyhow, any questions?**

 **P: What about Caterpie? From what I remember, Caterpie was caught before Pidgeotto.**

 **SV: I'm going to be doing a fair bit of sequence differences starting now. Not much on huge stuff, not yet, but some things will be slightly out of order. It depends on if I don't quite remember right, and don't want to look it up, or the reordering is needed for the story. Or just don't care, in some cases.**

 **K: I'm sure that's fine. Nice job with Misty, by the way.**

 **SV: Glad you liked it. I'm going to try and do something similar to Brock as well, mostly just depervertising him. Ashley ain't havin' none o' that!**

 **P: With Aura? I'm sure. Another question. How long will the forest take?**

 **SV: I'm getting them out in the next chapter. I have spent years in there, so I will not be staying for much longer.**

 **K: Great! How many new Pokemon will she get?**

 **SV: A couple. Just something new now, and maybe another one after that. Not completely sure. By the way, if you're wondering what happened to Child of Mew, I'll be updating that soon. It's not really a long chapter, but I'm putting off the update for a little while because reasons. Don't worry, I'll explain. Other than that, we'll see you all again later!**


	6. Kanto 3

**AN: Hey guys, we're back!**

 **K: Good to see you all.**

 **P: What's there for today?**

 **SV: First, an apology. Sorry that Child of Mew is taking so long, but there is a 'good' reason for it.**

 **K: Well, sorta. We're working on it, and we'll explain when we get that up. Hopefully that'll be soon, but again, we're working on it.**

 **P: Anything on the chapter?**

 **SV: Finishing the forest, new Pokemon, and some phone calls.**

 **K: Are you being vague again?**

 **P: She does have a good reason. Anyway, onwards! No Pokemon ownership here!**

* * *

 ***Timeskip: 1 week.***

* * *

Ashley was starting to get very annoyed with Misty by now. They had been in the forest for over a week, and every time Misty had spotted a bug she took of screaming. Ashley had ended up just using Aura Sight to find her, then point Strike in the right direction to pick her up. During the walking time, she let her newest Pokemon, the Pidgeotto now named Torna, fly with Strike. He had been talking to her about some sort of aerial fighting, as she often saw the two of them racing, with Torna using Quick Attack to try and hit Strike. The two had been playing air tag for ages, and would often stay in the air until they needed to put up a camp. Ashley didn't mind; after all, it was like a more playful form of training. She had spent quite a lot of time training, as she wanted to make sure that her team was ready for the gym battle in Pewter City. She only had two Pokemon at the moment, but she was hoping to catch a few more.

"ASHLEY! HELP!" Ashley sighed and turned to the Water type trainer she had been traveling with. She chuckled a little at what she saw. A small Caterpie was staring at Misty hopefully, while the aforementioned red head was trying to stay on the other end of the path from it.

"Geez Misty, can you calm down? It's only a Caterpie." Ashley rolled her eyes as she stepped closer.

"I DON'T CARE! CATCH IT OR SOMETHING!" Ashley crouched down next to the small bug.

"Hello there."

' _ **Hello.'**_ Caterpie replied. ' _ **That human's funny.'**_

"I know. I've been traveling with her for a week. It seems she is petrified of bug types."

' _ **You understand me?'**_ He said, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Yes, I do. Say, would you like to come and travel with me?" She asked. "I'll take care of you."

' _ **You do seem nice. I'll come with you.'**_ He nodded.

"Ok." She pulled a Pokeball from her belt. "Just tap the centre of the ball." He pushed his nose against the button, and it shook a few times before clicking. She stood, letting her new friend out again and holding out a hand. "Come on, you can sit on my shoulder."

' _ **Just don't let me fall, ok?'**_

"I won't." She replied quietly. She slipped her Pokedex out of her pocket and pointed it at the small bug.

'Caterpie, the Worm Pokemon. Caterpie has a voracious appetite. It can devour leaves bigger than its body right before your eyes. From its antenna, this Pokemon releases a terrifically strong odor. This Caterpie is male and has the ability Shield Dust. This Pokemon knows the moves Tackle, String Shot. It also has the egg move Electroweb, though this has not been unlocked yet. Note, this Pokemon has an extremely high speed stat for its species.'

"High speed stat, huh?" She smiled. "I think I'll call you Swiftstreak. Is that ok?"

' _ **Sure! It sounds cool!'**_

"Why did you catch it?" Misty asked, quivering.

"Because Butterfree can be a really powerful Pokemon. Plus, with the info the Pokedex said, I think this little one has a special stat. I can't tell as well, but my tutors talked about it. It means that a Pokemon has a much higher stat than normal from its species and age." She looked at the Caterpie on her shoulder. "I think, with the right training, you could be the fastest Butterfree in the world. What do you think?"

' _ **Wow…'**_ His eyes were shining. ' _ **Do you think I could?'**_

"So long as we do our best, we'll get you there." Her newest Pokemon nudged her happily, and she chuckled.

"How do you know all this stuff?" Misty asked, her eyes wide.

"I had four very special tutors that helped Professor Oak teach me. I went to the school like everyone else, but I started getting extra lessons privately when they saw how good I was in class."

"Who were your tutors?" Ashley was saved from trying to answer the question when Strike dove down and clashed against something with Steel Wing. She turned and looked over his shoulder to see a Samurai, with his sword lying a little ways away. Strike was glaring at him, and Torna had just landed next to her and was glaring too. Volta was on her other shoulder to Swiftstreak and was sparking angrily.

"Ok." Ashley said calmly. "Ten seconds. Explain what the hell you were doing."

"I apologize miss." The Samurai said. "I simply wished to challenge the trainers of Pallet Town to a battle."

"And swinging a sword at me was _definitely_ the best way to get my attention." She replied, with slight sarcasm. "You know, not just coming over and asking?"

"I do apologize. Would you like to battle?" He asked, more politely.

"Of course." Strike and Torna took off and circled the field for a moment, then hovered gently. Volta jumped from her shoulder, and Swiftstreak used String Shot to jump down. "You want to go first Volta?"

' _ **Sure thing boss.'**_ He grinned, then ran to the battlefield, sparking slightly.

"Well, let's go Pinsir!" He threw out the bug type. Ashley scanned it quickly.

'Pinsir, the Stagbeetle Pokemon. Pinsir has a pair of massive horns. Protruding from the surface of these horns are thorns. These thorns are driven deeply into the foe's body when the pincers close, making it tough for the foe to escape. No further data available.'

"Right. Volta, start with Thundershock!"

"Pinsir, move out of the way and use Seismic Toss!"

"Let him come." Ashley said calmly. Volta and the Samurai looked at her like she was crazy. ' _Don't worry, I've got a plan.'_ She said telepathically to Volta, frowning slightly as she did.

' _ **I'll trust you on this.'**_ He stood ready as Pinsir charged at him and went to grab him.

"Now, use Quick Attack to get out of the way and Thundershock from above!" Volta jumped up in a blur, reappearing a few feet above Pinsir. It stopped in place, confused, and he used this to unleash a powerful Thundershock on it. It cried out in pain, and when the attack finished it was panting. Ashley looked at it with a practised eye. _That looked close to the Thunderbolts that Mew and myself used when we were in Almia._ She thought to herself. _Maybe we'll get there soon._

"Pinsir!" Samurai shouted, regaining her attention. "Use Revenge!" Ashley's eyes widened.

"Use Agility in the air and Quick Attack away!" She countered quickly.

' _ **Sure! I'll work on that!'**_ He yelled back sarcastically. He blurred around, missing the brunt of the attack but still being clipped on the side.

"Volta, are you ok?" She asked, worried.

' _ **Yeah. I'll be fine.'**_ He grunted.

"Right. Try using Agility and Thundershocks."

"What are you trying?" Samurai asked.

"You'll see." Ashley thought back a few years, once again to the field trip to Almia, remembering some of the powerful moves they could use. The region had no trainers and rarely battled with Pokemon, so the coordination had been very surprising. Volta was soon jetting around the field, periodically firing Thundershocks at a confused Pinsir. "Now, Thundershock as strong as you can! And start running!" Volta followed her instructions perfectly, and a huge disk of electricity formed, with Volta running around the outer edge and Pinsir stuck in the middle. "Stop!" She called out, seeing that Pinsir couldn't continue. Volta returned to his original place in front of her, panting heavily and close to passing out himself. His opponent fell to the floor, completely exhausted.

"Pinsir, return." The Samurai looked at Ashley, stunned. "How did you do that?"

"By firing a continuous Thundershock, moving fast enough means that the lightning doesn't quite keep up with Volta's momentum, leaving the trail. Because he's focusing the attack on Pinsir, though, it means that the actual attack doesn't just fly away. It just makes the disk instead, as it has a place to focus and can follow on." She explained, picking up the tired Pikachu.

"Well, I'm impressed. It would appear the loudmouth from before was right."

"Who?" Ashley asked, confused.

"I've been battling every one of the trainers from Pallet Town. The most recent one said that there would be one more, and that she would be a very powerful trainer."

"Really? I wonder who'd have said that…" She thought aloud.

"If it is any help, he battled with a Squirtle."

"I might know who that is, but I don't recall exactly what my friends started with." She shrugged. "Anyway, shall we do another battle?"

"I agree." Samurai moved back to his original position as well. "Scyther!"

"Swiftstreak, up for a fight?" She asked, looking at her newest Pokemon.

' _ **Sure!'**_ He chirped enthusiastically.

"Ashley, what are you planning?" Misty said, still quivering at the huge amount of bugs in the area.

"Nothing really." She shrugged. "I just want to give him a test."

"I think that may be going too far."

"I don't think so." Ashley turned slightly, just so her hair covered her eye, and glanced at the Scyther in Aura Sight. From what she could tell, the bug type wasn't very powerful, leading her to believe that it was only a recent addition to the Samurai's team. Her Caterpie didn't seem too much better, but she could tell they would be fairly evenly matched. She shook her head again, moving her hair back as the blue glow faded, and grinned.

"Scyther, Quick Attack!"

"Swift, use String Shot to dodge!" The small Pokemon shot a web at a tree and pulled himself towards it, making Scyther miss by a mile. "Swing yourself around and Tackle!" Despite the weight of Caterpie being negligible in comparison the the Scyther, the speed of the attack helped deal damage to it. Before the Samurai reacted, a faint call of "Beeeedriiiilll…" stopped them in their tracks.

"What was that?" Misty said, shaking.

"The Beedrill swarm approaches." Samurai replied, returning Scyther. "Return your Pokemon and follow me." Strike landed next to Ashley.

' _ **Climb on. I'll get you up and out of the way.'**_

"Misty, climb on Strike and get above the trees. Strike can keep you safe." Ashley replied instead.

' _ **Ashley, what are you doing?'**_ Torna asked, cocking her head. ' _ **I'd carry you if I could.'**_

"Don't worry about me. I'm going to see if my old friend is here." She smiled. "Swift, Volta, do you want to go with them?"

' _ **No way!'**_ Volta shouted, shaking his head.

' _ **If you're going to do something stupid, we'll come and keep you safe.'**_ Swiftstreak added.

"Ok guys." She picked up Swiftstreak, and turned in the direction of the swarm. "Strike, Torna, get going. Follow the Samurai."

' _ **I really hope you know what you're doing Ashley.'**_ Strike shook his head, then took off. Samurai had already disappeared, so Torna went ahead of Strike to find him. As they broke through the treeline, Misty gave a small scream, which attracted the Beedrill. One of them lunged straight at Ashley, a powerful Twineedle attack at the ready. She closed her eyes, focusing on her Aura and trying to pull up a shield, but Swiftstreak didn't notice that and jumped off her shoulder. A wave of power disturbed her concentration, and she opened her eyes in surprise, only to close them again at the huge white light. Knowing what was happening, she put her arms in front of her to let her open her eyes for a moment, and watched her Metapod block the hit and start to fall.

"Swift!" She caught him, and used a slightly messy Heal Pulse to restore him.

' _ **You ok Ashley?'**_

"Of course I am." She smiled. "That was silly though. Don't do it again."

' _ **Well, I wasn't going to let you get hit!'**_ He said indignantly.

"I know that. You distracted me, that's all. I was going to put up a shield, but the energy pulse from you evolving distracted me."

' _ **Oh.'**_ Was all he said, in a quiet voice.

"Hey, don't feel bad. Thanks for wanting to save me." She lifted the Metapod in her arms carefully and glanced around the swarm. "Now, where's Vespine?"

' _ **Vespine?'**_ Volta asked.

"She's my Beedrill friend. I met when I came out with 'Mya' to get some practise using Aura on Pokemon I didn't know." She replied, still searching.

' _ **You're an Aura Adept?'**_ One of the Beedrill, a younger one by the sound of it, questioned.

"Yes, I am." A few whispers scattered through the back of the swarm, most likely the youngest Beedrill, before an older one flew forward.

' _ **We are sorry for attacking you, Adept.'**_ It said, nodding to her. ' _ **Many noises were coming from here, so we came to get rid of the disturbance.'**_

"Oh, sorry about that. I was having a battle with someone. I didn't realise the swarm was so close. I only came two months ago, and I thought the nest was further away from here." Ashley explained.

' _ **Not a problem. Where is this one you mentioned?'**_

"He ran away, and I sent my traveling partner Misty with him, as did my birds." She said. "If you don't mind, could you get my friend Vespine for me? I think she was around here."

' _ **Vespine is back at the hive.'**_ The elder told her. ' _ **Come, we shall guide you.'**_ The rest of the swarm took the hint and started to fly back. Ashley followed them.

' _ **Ashley? Are you going to call Strike and Torna back over now?'**_ Swiftstreak asked.

"I'll do that in a second." She replied. "Telepathy using Aura takes some focus when the target is close. Long distance telepathy is much harder, as it takes huge amounts of focus. Once I'm better trained in it, it should take less time and focus to talk. It's also easier with Psychics and other Aura Adepts."

' _ **How did you learn all of this?'**_ Volta said.

"Mostly Lucario and the Johto trio." She explained. "'Mya' was able to help as well, her home is really close to Rota, so she knows a lot about Aura."

' _ **Who're all these people you keep mentioning?'**_ Swift asked.

"Volta can explain tonight. I would, but it isn't something for any other humans to hear."

' _ **Young Adept, we are approaching the nest.'**_ The elder Beedrill who had spoke before told her.

"Thank you. Do you mind if I call my birds over? They won't cause any harm." Beedrill nodded, and she closed her eyes.

' _Strike, Torna, I'm with the swarm. I'm trying to find a friend. Feel free to come over to us.'_ She was sure that they'd get her message, so she opened her eyes. A few of the younger Beedrill flew away quickly, heading straight to the swarm.

' _ **Vespine! Vespine!'**_ They chorused. ' _ **We ran into an Aura Adept in the forest! She wants to talk to you!'**_

' _ **Really?'**_ Another Beedrill asked them. ' _ **Who is it?'**_ Vespine floated out from behind one of the trees.

' _ **She's over here!'**_ The younger Beedrill pulled Vespine over to Ashley and her two Pokemon.

"Hey there Ves!" She waved. "How's things?"

' _ **Ashley?'**_ She hovered in front of the Aura user. ' _ **Didn't think I'd see you here.'**_

"Yeah, I started my journey about a week ago. This is Volta, my starter," She nodded her head to the Pikachu on her shoulder. "And this is Swiftstreak. He's my most recent catch."

' _ **Just two? I'd have thought you'd have more, Adept.'**_ Vespine grinned, poking her in the shoulder lightly.

"I have a Pidgeotto too, but Torna's with my traveling partner Misty, and Strike, a shiny Staraptor that belongs to one of my friends from Sinnoh. She's currently in Johto for research."

' _ **That's nice. How's your training?'**_

"It's been fine. I've struggled to practise much this last week though, as my partner still doesn't know about it yet."

' _ **Do you plan to tell them?'**_

"Not sure." She lit up her eyes with Aura and scanned the sky. "They'll be here soon. Can you still do the telepathy trick you learned?"

' _ **Sure can! I assume you want me to use it?'**_

"So I don't show my ability to understand Pokemon, yeah."

' _ **Ok. It's fine with me, friend.'**_ She assured Ashley. Once again, the fluttering of wings alerted Ashley to Strike's presence. The shiny bird landed next to her, and Misty slipped off his back while Torna took her place on the ground too.

"Hey Mist, how was the flight?"

"It's still odd. I'm not used to being in the air, even if I'm not that high."

' _Maybe you should get a Flying type yourself to fly with.'_ Vespine suggested.

"That could be a good idea… waitaminute! Did you just talk?" Misty exclaimed, backtracking her sentence suddenly.

' _Telepathy, actually.'_ She replied, chuckling slightly. ' _It's something I picked up around a year ago.'_

"That's really cool!" She said. Vespine flew forward and headbutted her gently, but Misty jetted away with a small shriek.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Misty is terrified of Bug types." Ashley grinned.

' _Oh. My apologies.'_ The Beedrill told her.

"Not a problem. Not your fault." She replied, eyeing the Bug type with some hesitance. Vespine floated back over to Ashley and hovered above her head.

' _What do you plan to do now Ashley?'_

"I'm working to challenge the Pewter Gym right now."

' _Really?'_ She looked at the assembled team. ' _I'm sure that's Rock type. Good luck with that.'_ She grinned.

"Be quiet you!" Ashley snapped. "We're working on it."

' _Was that supposed to be a pun?'_ Vespine snickered. ' _In all seriousness, you really do need help. And I know just the way!'_

"What could you do?" Misty asked. "No offence, but I'm pretty sure you don't have any Rock moves, and you're weak to Rock type moves as well."

' _Don't you have a Pokedex thing?'_ Ashley nodded. ' _Scan me then!'_

"If it's a move or ability I won't be able to tell unless I catch you." She replied.

' _Awwww, that sucks.'_ She moaned. ' _Come with me then!'_ The Bug grabbed at Ashley's arm and pulled her along. She went to do the same with Misty too, but remembered her fear of Bugs and left her alone, settling for dragging Ashley to a rock that was sitting a little ways away. She dropped her arm and flew over to the rock, leaving Ashley and her team watching. ' _Watch this!'_ She floated over the rock and closed her eyes for a moment, before swinging her needle like arm downwards. It glowed white, or more so than normal, and crashed into it, splitting it in half.

"What was that?" Misty asked, seemingly unnerved by the power the bug held.

' _It was Brick Break!'_ She said cheerfully, flying around in a circle. ' _I picked it up a while ago.'_

"I thought Brick Break was a TM move." Ashley stated.

' _I don't know about that, but I do know that it's good against Rock types.'_ She giggled.

"That is true." Ashley sighed. "Why show us though?"

' _Well, I thought-'_ Her telepathic message was cut short by a small explosion.

' _ **What was that?'**_ Volta yelped.

' _I don't know, but it came from near the hive! Come on!'_ Vespine jetted off towards the tree fortress that was the Beedrill hive. Misty and Ashley followed, with Volta jumping to the ground and the two birds flying up. They ran/flew into the clearing, and were met with an odd sight. Two humans and a Meowth were holding nets, and were facing a horde of rather angry Beedrill. The reason for this soon became apparent, as they noticed the cages of Kakuna and Weedle in a balloon nearby.

"Haha, silly bugs!" Jessie gloated. "Now we have them all caught, what will you do?"

"Nothing, that's what!" James continued. "Not unless you want to watch them all be fried!"

' _How… dare they!'_ Vespine yelled, her mental voice shaking with anger. ' _How_ dare _these lowlives take our family!'_

' _Hush now Ves, they can't win.'_ Ashley replied mentally. ' _We'll stop them.'_

' _I sure as hell hope so!'_ She said viciously. ' _What's the plan?'_

' _Volta shocks the cages mechanism to stop Team Rocket from getting them, Strike and Torna on sabotage. You can fight with me.'_ Ashley told her, spreading the message to the others and wincing as she did so.

' _When?'_

' _When they notice us, they start a stupid song. That'll distract them.'_ Luckily, it was at that time that Misty called the Rocket members out.

"Hey! Aren't you the three idiots from Viridian?"

"I don't believe 'idiots' is the right term. Allow us to remind you who you're dealing with, girl." James sneered.

' _Now!'_

"Prepare for trouble."

"And make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite all people within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"  
"Jessie!"  
"James!"  
"Team Rocket blasting off at the speed of light!"  
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"  
"Meowth! That's right!"  
"What do you think you're doing?" Ashley said, with a deadly calm in her voice.

"Why, stealin' da Pokemon, o' course!" Meowth replied, looking at her like she was an idiot.

"Well, looks like I'll stop you then." She dropped Swiftstreak on the floor, letting him sit at her feet, and looked to Vespine. "Let's go girl!"

' _ **Let's teach these fools a lesson!'**_ The bee 'grinned' viciously.

' _What can you use then?'_

' _Poison Sting, Brick Break, Twineedle, Fury Attack.'_ She reeled off.

"Ekans, go!"

"Koffing, fight!"

"Hey! Two on one isn't fair!" Misty argued.

"I agree. However, Ves is more powerful than either of them." Ashley smirked.

"Yeah? Well how about you back that up!" Jessie shouted, clearly irked.

' _ **Swarm, get out of the way. This is about to get dangerous.'**_ Vespine ordered. They nodded, and flew back into the trees, out of the way of the upcoming battle.

"Ves, let's get them out of the way! Twineedle!"

"Poison Sting!" Both criminals shouted.

"Left!" ' _Don't listen to that, go right!'_ Ashley commanded, using her Aura to give the actual plan. The 'small' bug feinted to the left like Ashley had shouted, and both opposing Poison types tracked her over before she looped and flew around the right, then sped forwards to crash needle first into the Koffing, and knocking him into the Ekans. Out of the corner of her eye, Ashley watched as Volta quietly shocked the cages and cracked them open, and both Strike and Torna tear the balloon with Steel Wing and Quick Attack, respectively.

' _What now boss?'_ Vespine called, returning to her place in front of Ashley.

"Swoop in with Fury Attack!" Replied Ashley, making eye contact with Volta and flicking her head slightly to the right. ' _Send them back to the Rockets. Volta, get ready.'_ Vespine didn't reply or react, as she was busy poking the enemy with her sharp needle arms, but the mouse's eye widened as he caught onto what she meant. He nodded and moved quietly into position behind the trio. They all ended up in a pile, trapped underneath their Pokemon. "Volta, Thundershock!"

' _ **Get outta here Team Rocket!'**_ He yelled, firing a huge bolt of electricity at the five. It exploded, and all of them had to cover their eyes from the light.

"Look's like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" The remaining Beedrill came out from the trees, blinking the lights from their eyes, and reunited with the Weedle and Kakuna that had been trapped.

' _Holy heck, was that Thunder?'_ Vespine telepathically shouted. ' _That was insane!'_

"I really hope that wasn't Thunder." Ashley replied, also blinking rapidly. "If it was, that was a lot less powerful than I was expecting." She bought the Pokedex out of her pocket, and pointed it towards Volta again. She ignored the actual dex entry, and focused on what it said after.

'This Pokemon has the moves Thundershock, Growl, Tail Whip, Iron Tail and Thunderbolt. It also has the egg move Volt Tackle, though this has not been unlocked.'

"Ok, never mind. That was a Thunderbolt, and a lot _more_ powerful than I was expecting."

"How powerful were you expecting?" Misty asked, shaking her head.

"Well, I saw a few Pikachu with my tutors once, but their Thunderbolts weren't massively powerful." Ashley told her, putting her Pokedex away. Torna and Strike flew back over to her, and Volta jumped to her shoulder.

' _ **Doesn't matter how powerful it was, it was helpful!'**_ He said enthusiastically. Vespine translated telepathically for Misty.

"Yes bud, it was." Ashley grinned, patting him. "Now Ves, what were you saying earlier?"

' _I was going to ask if I could join you.'_ She asked hopefully. ' _I mean, you're a good friend, and I can tell you're powerful, so…?'_

"I'd love for you to join me, but what about the swarm?" Ashley asked worriedly.

' _They aren't my swarm, someone else leads them.'_ Vespine replied, gesturing towards the swarm, that were currently talking to the Weedle and Kakuna that had been caught. ' _So… do you mind?'_

"Of course not!" Ashley smiled widely. "You're a great friend of mine, and clearly powerful. Go say any goodbyes, then come on back." Vespine nodded, and flew over to the rest of the swarm.

"You're really getting another bug?" Misty asked, trembling.

"Well, she's my friend, and she asked, and she could be helpful against the gym." Ashley shrugged, picking up Swiftstreak again.

"Ok." Misty flinched.

"It's also likely that Ves can lead us out towards Pewter City." Ashley continued, looking over the swarm.

"I guess." They waited a few minutes, then Vespine flew back over.

' _I'm done with my goodbyes.'_ She smiled as best she could. ' _Let's get going then.'_

"Ok." She tapped the bee on the head with the Pokeball, and a few moments later it clicked shut. She quickly released her, and she shook her head. "How was it?"

' _Fine. Felt a bit weird, but I'll get use to that.'_ She nudged Ashley. ' _Now, let's head out. I'll show you the way.'_

* * *

Around a half an hour later, the group of six exited the forest.

"Finally!" Misty said, relieved. "Out of that forest!"

"I have to admit, it was starting to annoy me as well." Ashley admitted. "I'll have to return you three now." She said to Vespine, Torna and Swiftstreak. "I'll call you out later."

' _Ok.'_ ' _ **Ok.'**_ The three said, and were sucked back into their Pokeballs. Strike resettled next to Ashley.

"It's time for you to head off now, right?" She said.

' _ **Yep. Remember to call at some point.'**_ He nodded. ' _ **We'll be here in Kanto quite soon, so we'll try and find you.'**_

"Ok then. See you soon." She replied, patting his head. He cooed and nudged her, then took off again quickly, circling a few times before flying west to Johto. "Right. Let's get going to the Pokemon Center. I'll challenge the gym tomorrow."

"Ok." Misty looked around. "Follow me." She led the way over to the Center, and Ashley followed behind.

"I'll drop you lot off for a check, along with the eggs, and make the phone call to Aunt Delia while you explain to the others about my friends." She said to Volta in a low voice.

' _ **Alright. How much?'**_

"Mya, the trio, and the eggs. Also Aura properly." She replied, even quieter.

' _ **Right. I'll start explaining and try not to let them annoy you on the phone. What about what Strike told me?'**_ Ashley was silent for a moment, long enough for Volta to worry that maybe he shouldn't have asked, but then she spoke.

"I think that would be best. Leave that until the end, though, please."

' _ **Ok.'**_ They stayed quiet until they reached the Center.

"Hello Nurse Joy, can we get a room each for the night?" She asked.

"Of course you can." She replied, handing two keys over to the girls. "Anything else?"

"Can you give my team a check over please?" Ashley requested.

"Mine too." Both girls put their Pokeballs on the counter, and Volta jumped next to them so Ashley could get to her bag. She carefully took the two incubators from it and placed them down too, ignoring the curious look Misty gave her.

"I also need you to check these eggs for me."

"Not a problem." She smiled. "Please go and wait over there." Both girls took a seat on the side.

"Where did you get those eggs Ashley?" Misty asked her. "I didn't see you with them before. Did Strike bring them?"

"No. I got them as a gift on the first day of my journey." She said truthfully.

"Who from? And what are they?"

"My aunt gave them me. I don't know what they are, and I'll wait to find out."

"They look pretty special. Maybe they're rare Pokemon?"

"They might be." Ashley replied. _Oh, you have no idea._ She stood up and went over to a signboard, choosing to attempt to avoid continuing the conversation. Surprisingly, it worked, and Misty didn't bother to continue talking. She stood there reading the board, unconsciously fiddling with the crystal around her neck. Luckily it wouldn't activate unless she put Aura into it to send the message, so it just sat there next to the red jewel on her wrist.

"Hey Ashley, where did you get that bracelet from?" Misty asked, catching sight of it. "It's really pretty."

"I don't know where it's from. It was a gift from my cousins when I moved over." She replied truthfully.

"What are your cousins like?"

"They're twins, and live in that northern area like I said. They're really nice, but a little odd sometimes. I don't mind though, it's kinda fun." She smiled, happy to think about her home region without many bad memories. Most of the actual good memories involved her parents, and she didn't really want to think about that. Even after five years, it still stung. A small flicker of Aura washed across the bracelet, but she didn't notice, going back to reading. Misty did, though, and stared at it, confused.

 _Did her bracelet just glow?_ She thought. She kept looking at it for a few moments more, but the ruby stayed red. _I must be imagining things. There's no way it could change colour._ A small ping made them both look up, and Ashley looked in Aura Sight to see Nurse Joy, with six Pokeballs and a Pikachu. She walked over to the desk and stood there, waiting for her team to come back, and Misty followed.

"Here you are, your teams are both perfectly fine." Volta jumped onto the counter, but stayed there, letting Ashley get her bag. "And these two eggs are in perfect condition as well."

"Thank you." She smiled, taking the incubators one at a time and putting them in her bag. She shouldered it and Volta climbed up. She clipped the balls to her belt, and Misty did the same. "I'm going to head upstairs. I've got a few calls to make before I turn in."

"I'm going to take a look around the town before heading up. Goodnight."

"Night." Ashley smiled at her friend before heading to the room she had been given. She quickly shut herself inside and took a few calming breaths. Volta jumped back down and gave her a worried look.

' _ **You ok?'**_

"Sure am." She took another breath and steadied herself. "Ok. I've got three calls to make, two depending on where my aunt and the Professor are." She dropped her bag carefully and took the eggs out, placing them on the side. "I'll start with Mya, then the others. With Mya, I talk telepathically, so I'll be a bit blank until after. Don't disturb me please."

' _ **Of course Boss!'**_ Volta said, and she chuckled.

"Right. Good luck keeping them under control." She took one final breath, then released her team. They got into fighting positions, then relaxed, confused. "I've got some calls to make, and Volta has some explaining to do on my behalf. Mostly because it kinda hurts to talk about some of it, so it's better to make my calls while he does. Please just listen, and I'll answer questions after I'm done. Ok?"

' _ **Sure thing.'**_ They grinned.

"Thank you." She grinned to Volta. "Good luck."

' _ **Thanks. Where shall I start?'**_

"Same list from earlier. Leave the extra 'till last." He nodded, and settled down.

' _ **Right. Get comfortable, this is gonna take a while.'**_ She smiled, then leaned against the wall herself and grasped the crystal around her neck.

' _Hi again Mew. Can you open a connection again? I want to talk about some stuff.'_ Mew popped into her head a few seconds later.

' _Hi Ashley! How's everything?'_

' _Going great, thanks.'_

' _That's good to hear. I assume you didn't just call me for gossip, though, did you?'_

' _You'd be right in thinking that. I have a few questions and you're the only one who can answer them.'_

' _Fire away chick.'_

' _Is it possible to teach a Pokemon or person to harness Aura? I remember being told that it's in everything, so could we?'_

' _For Pokemon, yes. Most already use Aura to power up their attacks anyway, so you just need to split it from the natural type. For people, if they aren't an Aura adept like you, then it's unlikely they can do much. Aura Sight and translations are about it.'_

' _Ok. I'm about to challenge the Pewter gym, and my team isn't the best against Rock types. I was thinking of teaching Volta how to use Force Palm to give a small advantage.'_

' _Oh, you're in Pewter? It's quite close to Rota, maybe I'll stop by and watch. Maybe you-'_

' _No thanks Mew. I still don't want to face it.'_ She could hear Volta talking distantly, and the others of her team seemed quite shocked.

' _Alright. Why ask about people?'_

' _I have a new travelling partner, Misty. I was thinking about explaining Aura to her, and teaching her something.'_

' _It might not be safe. Make a call whenever you're ready. It's your power.'_

' _Ok. Continuing with Aura, how come you always weakened you Psychic power when I was training?'_

' _Psychic and Aura are very different. The reason is that if the two are too close, they short each other out, and neither can use them. Aura Sight and Psych Scans are the limit. Luckily, really weak energies can work together, so I just powered down instead.'_

' _Ouch. That sounds bad.'_

' _It can be, yes. Anything else?'_

' _No, that's it, thanks.'_

' _Ok. I'll come by tomorrow and stay around. I'll try and watch your battle!'_ The link cut off, and Ashley grinned. She stayed still for a few moments longer, then moved to her bag and got the X-transceiver out, along with some earbuds. She wanted to make sure no one could overhear the conversation.

' _ **Right, next up is mostly for Torna. Ashley can use Aura.'**_ She typed in the number needed to call her home, and grinned as she felt the surprised gaze of her bird Pokemon. She quickly dialed the number, and her aunt picked up after a few rings.

"Hello dear!"

"Hi Aunt Delia. How are you?"

"I'm fine thank you. What about you?"

"Great! I just got out of Viridian forest earlier, along with my travelling partner Misty. That was fun, considering that she is petrified of Bugs." Her aunt flinched.

"Ouch, that doesn't sound good. Have you expanded your team anymore? I remember meeting Volta last time you called."

"Yeah, I've caught a few new friends. There's Torna, a Pidgeotto I found being attacked by a flock of Spearow. I healed her with Aura, though she didn't realise it, while Strike went and got Misty and Volta for me. I'd stormed off when Volta had kept talking to me about… some stuff." She flicked her wrist slightly, drawing attention to her bracelet, knowing Delia would understand.

"Oh. Are Volta and Torna ok? And what about Strike?"

"Strike left this morning, when we got out. And they're both fine. Anyway, I also got a Metapod, named Swiftstreak, or Swift for short." Her aunt looked confused, and she elaborated. "He has a special speed stat. And I picked up Vespine, you remember her? I caught her as well. I'd show you the team, but Volta's busy talking to them."

"Right. I spoke to the Professor, obviously, and he immediately wanted to study them, but I managed to talk him out of getting you to send them to him. He's probably going to badger you with questions the next time you're both together."

"That sounds great." She groaned. "I just hope he doesn't yell about them too much."

"It'll probably happen anyway. So what are you doing now?"

"I'm in Pewter. I was planning to challenge the gym tomorrow, but I might push that back a bit. I was talking to Mya earlier, and I want to test something with Aura."

"Ok. I'll be going,I've got some things I need to do. Bye sweetie!"

"Bye." She hung up and put them X-transceiver in her bag. She took another deep breath, readying herself for what was likely to be a storm as Volta finished talking. She'd stopped hearing the Pokespeech for the actual words at some point during the conversation with her aunt, as though the entirety of her aura reserves had disabled themselves to stop needing to listen to what would occur. She slowly closed her eyes and reactivated her powers, focusing on being able to understand, and pulsing Aura into her wish. She couldn't tell if it had worked, as none of them were saying a word. So, instead of bothering to think about it, she just turned around and gave a weak smile.

"All done?" She asked quietly, not needing the answer. Torna took wing and glided over to her, wrapping her wings around her. Volta followed over, wriggling under to sit in her lap. Vespine hovered over holding Swiftstreak, who she placed on her lap next to Volta before floating to hug her as well.

' _ **Ok?'**_ Torna asked.

"Of course."

' _ **Sure?'**_

"Yes, I am." She hugged each of them in turn. "I guess Volta told you everything then?"

' _ **Yes.'**_ Swift said. ' _ **Is there anything he missed?'**_

"Nothing he missed, just stuff that he didn't quite know about. Though, I'm not sure what you know about my past, as Strike told him that."

' _ **I think I got everything that Strike knew, so you'd have to fill in the gaps.'**_

'I'll do my best to do that later, or leave it to our guest."

' _ **Guest?'**_ Vespine asked.

"I mentioned to Volta that I was going to be talking to my aunt and Mya. I assume he told you who Mya is?" They nodded. "Well, she's going to come and visit. She wants to watch my gym battle, and I think she wants to help with training. She can get a little over the top, though, so be warned. If you need to stop, just say."

' _ **Seriously?'**_ Torna said, surprised. ' _ **Volta said you were friends, but you can just call her for that?'**_

"I didn't call her over to help. I wanted to ask her something. You all already know I can use Aura. Well, Mya lives in a very important place, near a kingdom which has a lot to do with Aura. It turns out that, because Pokemon have a lot of natural aura that goes into your typed attacks, I can teach you to manipulate it. You can either make your normal attacks stronger, or use Aura specialised attacks like Aura Sphere and Force Palm. Of course, she can't really help much, but I think she's coming to supervise." At her team's flabbergasted looks, she added, "If you want to, that is."

' _ **If we want to?'**_ Vespine repeated.

' _ **Ashley, that sounds awesome!'**_ Volta grinned up at her.

' _ **Yeah, it sounds really helpful.'**_ Swiftstreak said.

"Ok. But as a warning, it sure won't be easy. Although," Ashley focused for a moment, and winced slightly. ' _You'll all be able to do this.'_

' _ **I already can.'**_

"I know Ves, but telepathy using Aura is easier with other Aura users or Psychics powerful enough. And good luck with that."

' _ **Why's that?'**_

"From what Mya said, when a Psychic and Aura user get too close, they can short each other out. It pretty much limits you to Aura Sight or Psych Scans."

' _ **But, Volta said you learned with Mew. How did that work?'**_

"She's powerful enough to be able to block most of her power, leaving her weakened, but we could still use our respective powers because of it." She pulled the small crystal back into sight. "This acts as a focuser, as well as letting me send messages to Mya via its link to the Tree." Torna looked curious, as did the others, so she quickly continued. "Later. Anyway, it lets me focus Aura better."

' _ **Right. What's the Tree? Volta didn't mention that.'**_ Torna asked.

"That's because he didn't know. I'd rather let Mya explain herself tomorrow, as I don't really know anything about it. If you don't mind, I'd like to sleep. I'll head back to the forest for a training spot."

' _ **Ok. Good night.'**_ The other three members of her team returned themselves, and Ashley lay down, Volta at her side in a little ball.

"Night all."

* * *

 **AN: All done!**

 **K: Woooo, long chapter.**

 **SV: Well, only in comparison to the rest of my chapters.**

 **P: Either way, what he says rings true.**

 **T: If it sounded a little rushed, none of us like Viridian Forest, mostly because we get lost a lot.**

 **SV: Yeah, I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. Still, another apology for that delay to Child of Mew, I know you guys like it. Nothing else really of note here, see you next time!**


	7. Kanto 4

**AN: Hey all, good to be back! And Happy New Year!**

 **P: What's on the list for today, then?**

 **K: Well, from what I remember, and what Shadow said last time, Aura. A fair bit of Aura.**

 **T: *Reading the notes.* Yeah, that's about right, honestly, but Mew as well. And a gym, it seems?**

 **SV: Shut up, or there'll be nothing for the viewers to wonder about. Let's get on with it!**

* * *

Ashley woke up earlier than normal, even for her. She carefully moved off the bed and started her Aura exercises as she usually did. She was slightly surprised, however, when Volta sat up too and walked over to the edge.

' _ **Good morning Ashley.'**_ He said.

"Hello bud. Why're you awake at this time?"

' _ **You normally are, but there isn't a real reason.'**_ He nudged her shoulder. ' _ **What I really wanted to ask is if we can start with the Aura stuff now.'**_

"Well, if you want to, but it can be a little explosive, so we'd need to be careful."

' _ **I mean, I thought it would be helpful if you got me started now, since later you'll have to do all of the others at the same time, so it's getting a little bit out of the way.'**_

"Sure." Ashley smiled. "Thanks for thinking of me in that one. Right, hold out your paws." He did so, and she took them, channelling a little bit of Aura as she did.

' _ **Ok, what now?'**_

"Right, close your eyes." He shot her a glance before doing so, figuring that she knew what she was doing. "Can you feel that tingling from my hand?" She increase the output a little more, so the blue glow was more visible.

' _ **Yeah, I get it.'**_

"Focus on a happy memory of some sort. Anything at all." The Pikachu in front of her frowned, and she started to slowly lower her output. "Right, now keep thinking of that, and then concentrate on the tingle. You need to sort of…" She paused for a moment, trying to think of how to put it. "Try and link the memory with the feeling. Don't stop focusing on either one." Carefully, she moved her hand out of the way, and watched silently as a small yellow glow surfaced on his paws. As she watched, the glow got brighter and brighter. "Right, now very carefully push that feeling downwards so I can feel it properly." She moved her hand again, ready to stop the Aura ball that would hopefully form from dropping. As she did, though, Volta's eyes snapped open in surprise, and he looked at Ashley before glancing down at his paws. His concentration broken, the bright yellow light flickered out, but he saw it, and looked back at Ashley with a huge smile.

' _ **When did you move?'**_

"After I told you to link the memory up." She smiled back, patting him on the head. "That was a really fast start up there."

' _ **Thanks. Is it always that easy?'**_

"Not always. It can be." Ashley nodded. "It kinda depends on the memory you use. If it's a really happy memory, it'll focus faster and sometimes be more powerful. Lucario said it's because Aura can be influenced by emotions. Like when we were in the forest, a bit before Strike found me, I nearly had an Aura blowup. It's because if Aura Users get too stressed, angry or upset, we start sparking uncontrollably." She held up her hand to demonstrate, and a few Aura sparks flew out. "That's why I said you need to be careful as it could be explosive. If you get too irritated or impatient, it might blow up in your face."

' _ **Right. Should I try again?'**_

"Sure. Just be careful though, we don't want it exploding." She smiled. "When we get back to Pallet at the end of the travels through Kanto, I'll show you guys to the place Lucario helped me learn, along with the Johto trio. The place it littered with holes."

' _ **Couldn't Mew just show us tomorrow?'**_ Volta asked. ' _ **She is Psychic, after all.'**_

"Good point." She smiled again. "We'll do that. Now, if you want to keep going, do so. I'm going to get started on my own practises."

* * *

Around an hour later, Ashley stopped her Aura practises and looked up sharply. Volta looked around too, the bright yellow glow disappearing from his paws.

' _ **What's wrong?'**_

"Nothing." She looked around again, closing her eyes this time. A few sparks flew wildly off her fingers, and she smiled before clearing her throat. "You know, hiding works when you don't set the Aura User off, either sparking or from your own aura." Volta sat up and cocked his head.

' _ **Someone's here?'**_

' _Yup!'_ A bright and bubbly voice said telepathically, making him jump.

' _ **Right, telepathy.'**_ He reminded himself quietly.

' _Yeah, talking aloud would be kinda awkward.'_ It replied. Ashley shook her head.

"Just like you, Mew."

' _Thanks!'_ Ashley felt a small weight settle on her shoulder and smiled.

"You're stealing Volta's spot."

' _I'm sure he won't mind.'_ She giggled, flickering back into existence. ' _After all, he looked pretty busy when I got here. Plus, I think he's preoccupied.'_ Ashley looked over and stifled a giggle. He looked even more awestruck than when they'd seen Ho-oh and gotten the eggs.

"Yeah, I guess. So, how've you been?"

' _Fine thanks. Thing's are going well at home, and I think the annual tournament was starting when I left.'_

"Oh, that thing?" She thought. "I remember you talking about that. The one to do for Sir Aaron?"

' _Yeah. I think you'd like it. And imagine how Ilene would react to meeting a new Aura User from your line! Heck, we might even be able to get you properly finished in your training! It's been_ years _since I last crowned an Aura Guardian from Rota!'_

"I'd love to, but I don't think I could. Since, well, you know." Ashley admitted quietly.

' _Yeah, I know. Maybe someday, but I won't force you.'_

"Thanks for that." She sighed, then moved over to happier topics. "Well, I've just gotten Volta started on creating Aura, so I think we should move out and let the others get started too."

' _Ok then. What do you want me to help with?'_

"I'm not sure, to be honest. Maybe just general training? Or you can just keep an eye on them while I work one on one?"

' _I'm fine with that.'_ Ashley stood, and Mew floated off her shoulder to let Volta take his place.

"Come on, we've got things to do." She picked up her bag and carefully put the eggs back into it.

' _By the way, can I take a look at those when we've away from the city?'_

"What, making sure I'm looking after them properly?" She said.

' _No, not at all! Just wanted to see them, that's all.'_

"Right. Volta, come on, let's get going." She stopped, letting the Pikachu climb up, and glanced at Mew. "We decided we were going to the forest to do the training."

' _Why's that?'_ Mew asked, settling back onto Ashley's other shoulder as they walked out of the room, closing the door behind them.

' _One, to get some peace and quiet. Two, Misty hates bugs, so going to the forest should keep her away.'_ She replied, swapping to the Aura variant of telepathy to avoid appearing like she was talking to nothing.

' _Right.'_ Mew nodded, vanishing belatedly in the same moment. ' _That makes sense. Should I use a human guise to watch the match, or just go invisible?'_

' _Invisible, I'd say. I don't want to need to explain to Misty who you are and make up some massive story.'_

' _Sounds fine. I'll chill with you guys for a while, help with the training, then quickly pop back over to Rota to check everything at the tournament before I come back.'_

' _Thanks.'_ Ashley glanced around quickly before entering the forest again. "Ves, come out here."

' _ **What's up Ashley?'**_ She asked, hovering around her.

"Mind finding us a place to practise? It needs to be kinda hidden." She requested.

' _ **Sure, I know a good place. Follow me.'**_ Ves started off, in a direction close to the hive, and the others followed. ' _ **It's not too near the hive, so we shouldn't see any Beedrill, and it's pretty far from the Butterfree nest. It's still quite deep in the forest, though, so we shouldn't get anyone coming around to interrupt us.'**_

"Thanks Ves. That's really helpful." That done, she glanced at Volta. "You keep up the practise and try not to explode, while I set the others up and talk with Mew, ok?"

' _ **Sure. What's Mew doing anyway?'**_

"Honestly, not sure. She'll probably do something with moves and the like, since she likes transforming and knowing any moves is a part of her job." The little invisible pressure on her shoulder giggled.

' _Sure will!'_ Mew giggled happily, and chuckled again when Vespine jumped.

' _ **She's already here?!'**_

' _Yup!'_ Ashley felt the small weight lift from her shoulder, and Mew became visible again in a few seconds to twirl around. ' _It's nice to meet you! I'm the Rota Mew, Guardian of the Tree of Beginning, the other Original One, and a whole lot of other titles that don't really matter as much.'_

' _ **Glad to meet you, Miss Mew.'**_ Ves bowed in the air, holding out a stinger in greeting.

' _Ash, don't you tell anyone about the formalities thing?'_ Mew asked her, shaking the outstretched stinger and sighing dramatically.

"I was going to bring it up when we stopped, since I could talk to everyone at once." Ashley rolled her eyes. "But naturally, you happened to pop up."

' _Fine.'_ She laughed, landing back on her shoulder. ' _Rethought that thing from last night? The tournament's ended now, unfortunately, but we could rejig some stuff with Ilene and get the knighting thing done.'_

"Mew, I really appreciate the offer, but no thanks. I'd like to go home, both to Rota and Sinnoh, someday, but I think now's a bit too soon. I couldn't do it." She chuckled a bit as another thought hit her. "Plus, I'd need to explain to Misty too, and I don't feel like doing that now."

' _I guess so.'_ Mew shrugged. ' _Whenever you're ready to come home, I suppose.'_

' _ **Um, excuse me?'**_ Ves asked. ' _ **What're you talking about?'**_ She looked at Volta, who shook his head.

' _ **I don't know either.'**_

' _Ash's family originally came from Rota. Her mom was born there, and the reason she's gotten Aura powers as an Adept, not a Taught.'_

"I haven't heard that term before." Ashley noted idely.

' _It's not really a term often used in the Aura community,'_ Mew explained. ' _Mostly 'cause not many bother teaching none Adepts to use Aura. It was rare even back in the olden days, but now there's even less. Anyhow, it's just a term for people and Pokemon how're taught to use Aura, used more for people.'_

' _ **So we'd count as Taught?'**_ Volta asked.

' _Yep. The only reason most don't use it for Pokemon is because we naturally have Aura, just can't use it very well.'_

' _ **Right.'**_ Ves nodded, stopping her flight and landing. ' _ **We're here, by the way.'**_

"Alright." The two Pokemon left her shoulders, allowing Ashley to put down the bag she'd been carrying. Mew hovered over, sitting next to it, and stopped her as she took out the rest of her team.

' _Mind if I get the eggs out?'_

"Sure. Be careful though, please." Ashley requested. "I'll get everyone out." So saying, she took off the three Pokeballs she had on, releasing the Pokemon as Mew levitated the eggs out of the bag. "Hey, you three."

' _ **Howdy Ashley.'**_ They chorused, stretching. ' _ **How's things?'**_

"Fine thanks. Anyhow, here's a friend I wanted you to meet." She waved Mew over, who left the eggs near the bag and flew over.

' _Hi you guys!'_

' _ **Hello Miss Mew.'**_ They all bowed.

' _For my own sake…'_ She muttered. ' _Right no need for the formalities, it gets tiring after a while. Anyway, it's nice to meet you!'_ She smiled, settling on Ashley's shoulder again.

' _ **Nice to meet you as well.'**_ Torna 'smiled'.

' _Thanks. Now, Ash here wanted me to help you guys out. Honestly, not sure how, but I assume she's going to get to that.'_

"I was, yes." She smiled to her friends. "I know I mentioned yesterday that I can use Aura, and if you wanted, you could learn. I started Volta off this morning, and now I want to get you guys going as well, assuming you want too. And Mew, if you don't mind, supervision and possibly some help with moves." She glanced to her oldest friend, who nodded.

' _Not a problem!'_ She giggled, taking off again. ' _I'll wait until you need me, then I'll help you all out!'_ Ashley's team blinked, surprised at Mew's willingness to take orders from their trainer, but she missed it. Instead, she turned to the rest.

"Right, until then, I'd like you to practise together. But first…" She paused, taking out her Pokedex and pointing it at Vespine.

"Beedrill, the Poison Bee Pokemon and the evolved form of Kakuna. Beedrill are extremely territorial. No-one should ever approach its nest- this is for their own safety. If angered, they will attack in a furious swarm. This Beedrill is female and has the ability Swarm. This Pokemon knows the moves Poison Sting, Brick Break, Twineedle and Fury Attack. This Pokemon also has the egg move Electroweb, though this has not been unlocked yet. Also note that Brick Break is normally picked up through TM." Ashley smiled.

"Right, plan. You two," She pointed at Ves and Swift, putting the Pokedex away. "I want you to try and figure out how to make electrical energy and get Electroweb working. Volta, I'd like for you to teach them how to use electrical energy. Mew, if you don't mind helping out?" She asked, to a nod as Mew flew over and shapeshifted to another Pikachu and sat next to them. "Meanwhile, I'll get Torna started on Aura. At least, unless you want to swap with Swift?"

' _ **No, I'm happy to get started.'**_ She grinned. Mew and Volta lead the duo of Bugs to the other side of the clearing, away from the possible destructive circle that the Aura may cause. ' _ **What do we do, then?'**_

"Well first, we need to get you the feel for Aura." Once again bringing a blue coating of power to her hand, she held it out to the bird. "Here, feel this…"

* * *

 ***Down the line of an hour and a half later.***

* * *

' _That… that is a lot of holes.'_ Mew telepathed, blinking.

"Yeah." Ashley replied simply. "That's an acute observation."

' _Well, it's true.'_ She said, folding her arms and huffing.

"Never said it wasn't." Ashley rolled her eyes, then looked around again at the field.

It was, quite frankly, a mess. There were holes everywhere. Literally. The clearing had been small to begin with, about ten feet across, and about ninety percent of that was holes. Most of them were tiny, barely more than pinpricks, but others were huge. "It might have been a bad idea to set everyone off at once."

' _Ya think?'_ She laughed. ' _Eh, I don't blame you for not thinking about it. I mean, the only person I've ever taught to use Aura is you, and I didn't technically teach you.'_

"Yeah." Ashley looked over to the side, where her entire team was lying. "Think you could do me a massive favour and heal the guys up?"

' _Sure.'_ Glowing pink, Mew flew around them all, with sparkling pink dust appearing in the sky. Each of the Pokemon in the pile sat up, yawning.

' _ **Ashley? That was stupid.'**_ Volta said. ' _ **I mean, Aura's cool though.'**_

' _ **Yeah.'**_ Torna yawned. ' _ **And I want to learn to do it properly.'**_

"Well," The trainer replied. "We can do that, but the issue is the fact that Misty doesn't know, and I don't have the confidence to tell her about Aura. So, we'll have to do it carefully, at least until I can tell her."

' _ **Fair enough. I get why you don't want to say anything.'**_ Volta nodded.

' _ **Actually, I've a quick question for Mew before we head back.'**_ Ves raised a stinger. ' _ **Ashley, you mentioned the Tree? What is it?'**_

' _Ohh, you mentioned the Tree?'_ Mew smiled. ' _Nice. What do you need?'_

"I was talking about the crystal I use to talk with you, and they wanted to know what the Tree was."

' _Right.'_ She settled down on Ashley's shoulder, and the Adept sat down too. ' _So, the Tree. The Tree is my crystal home in Rota.'_ Waving her tail, the clearing flickered, then changed to the city of Rota. The Pokemon looked around in awe, while Ashley buried her head in her hands, letting her get it over with. ' _It's just up there, see? Basically, the entire tree's made of crystals on the inside, and the little shard I gave Ash on her seventh birthday is just large enough to channel Aura to the Tree. Normally, they'd lose the ability to connect to my home, but being around Ash's Aura supply keeps it from dying and falling apart.'_ Waving her tail again, the image vanished, and Ashley brought her head back up. ' _Honestly, it's only important because I live there and it's a connection between the two of us.'_

' _ **Huh.'**_ Ves smiled. ' _ **Thanks for the explanation.'**_

' _No problem. Now, let's get moving to the gym.'_

"Right." Ashley raised the Pokeballs for her team, returning them, while Volta climbed to her shoulder and Mew landed on her head, invisible. "Think you're ready for this?"

' _ **Sure. I mean, we can't use Aura to beat the Rocks easier, but I'll be ok, with Iron Tail and just having better speed, Ves has Brick Break and can fly… I don't think it's a good idea to send out Swift with this, and Torna's not got the room to maneuver in a small gym space.'**_ Volta said.

"Yeah, I see that. So I guess you and Ves, then?"

' _ **I'm good for that.'**_ The little mouse said.

' _Mind if I stay on your shoulder?'_ Mew asked.

"Yeah, if you want to." Ashley replied. "Just stay quiet and try not to distract me."

' _I won't. Good luck, though.'_

"Thanks." Ashley glanced around. "Now, where's Misty?"

' _The redhead?'_ Mew asked. ' _Over there.'_ She gave Ashley a minor psychic nudge, pointing out the Water type trainer.

"Oh yeah. Thanks Mew." Ashley ran over to her friend. "Hey Misty!"

"Morning Ashley." She waved. "Where'd you go? I was wondering about you."

"Went to go give Ves a quick game plan, and talk with the rest of the team."

"How'd you…? Oh, Ves' telepathy." Misty realised. "Man, that's going to be really helpful."

' _Ves has telepathy?'_ Mew asked her at the same time.

"Yeah." She replied, answering both questions. "So, let's get going to the gym?"

"Sure. Follow me." Misty led the three of them towards the huge gym building, and they stepped in. Misty went directly for the sidelines, while Volta leapt from Ashley's shoulder to the ground, ready to fight.

' _You, or Ves?'_ Ashley parsed to Volta telepathically.

' _ **I'll go second, please.'**_ He requested. ' _ **Just don't let Ves get knocked out. I'd like some backup.'**_

' _You got it.'_

' _Hey, where's the leader?'_ Mew asked. ' _I thought these places had a boss that you need to fight.'_

' _They do.'_ She said. ' _He'll be out in a bit, I assume.'_ Moving her hand, she brushed her hair out of her eyes, conveniently covering her eyes from Misty for a few seconds, and looking in Aura Sight. ' _He's in the back room. Hold on.'_ She cleared her throat, and the leader came running out.

"Sorry about that, I was dealing with something. Anyway, I'm Brock, the gym leader here. I assume you're going to be challenging?"

"Yeah. I'm Ashley Ketchum." She smiled, taking Ves' ball from her belt.

"Good to meet you." The leader grinned back, taking his own Pokeball and gesturing behind him. A kid ran out, taking the spot of gym referee.

"This is an official battle between Gym Leader Brock of Pewter and challenger Ashley Ketchum. This will be a two on two battle where only the challenger can switch. The challenger has the first attack." He announced. "Trainers, send out your Pokemon!"

"Geodude, let's go!"

"Vespine, time to fight!"

' _ **You got it!'**_ The bug hovered towards the middle of the field.

"Since we're first… Ves, Focus Energy and Fury Attack!"

' _ **Sure thing!'**_ The bee cheered, charging forwards Geodude. Brock waited until she was close, then gave his own command.

"Jump at it with Rollout!"

"Dodge around!" Ashley returned, thinking fast. Ves twisted, bringing her rear stinger closer and getting a hit off, then dropping under so he overshot her by inches. Everyone else was staring, startled, and Ashley capitalised on it. "Twineedle!" Geodude landed roughly, and started to turn, only to be hit in the face by the two stingers. "Fury Attack again!"

' _ **Jeez, just rack up damage.'**_ Volta said quietly, as a five hit streak hit the poor Geodude.

' _I think she's trying to finish it quickly, since if Ves get's hit, there'll be problems.'_ Mew hazarded from the Adepts shoulder.

"Geodude, Rock Throw! Pin her down!" Unfortunately, Ves was so close in that dodging was almost impossible, knocking the bee to the floor.

"Don't give him the chance to use it! Try and get back up!"

"Stop her with Rollout!" The bee struggled for the air, hurt, while the rock rolled forwards. Glancing frantically between them, Ashley gave a command.

"Forget getting in the air, Twineedle again!" Raising her stingers, Ves winced in advance as she effectively blocked the super effective attack with her face. Both Pokemon were knocked sprawling, but as they struggled to stand upright, Ashley noted the small purple haze on Geodude.

' _You've gotten a poison off, do your best to use it!'_ Ashley telepathed, watching her friend.

' _ **Hell yeah I will.'**_ She replied aloud, pushing herself upright. ' _ **Bring it!'**_

' _ **Heh. Cocky.'**_ Geodude replied, pushing himself upright. ' _ **I'll just- gah!'**_ He flinched as the poison hit him. ' _ **What was that?'**_

' _ **Poisoning mate!'**_ She laughed, fluttering back into the air. ' _ **Twineedle does that.'**_

' _ **Damn.'**_ He swore, mirrored by Brock.

"Poison?" He asked Ashley.

"Yep. Surprising how many folks seem to forget it does that." She shrugged, mindful of the invisible Mew on her shoulder. "Anyway, Ves, Fury Attack!"

' _ **Boring!'**_ She sang, but followed the orders anyway.

' _ **Ouch!'**_ Geodude retorted, rapidly throwing rocks in an attempt to get rid of the angry bee.

' _Wasp.'_ Mew said suddenly.

"Eh?" She replied, focusing more on the battle.

' _Ves is technically a wasp.'_ The pink Pokemon clarified. ' _Since she doesn't die if she stings something.'_

' _ **What brought up that random bit of trivia?'**_ Volta muttered.

' _Dunno.'_ Mew shrugged, unseen. ' _Just thought I'd bring it up.'_

"Save it you too." Ashley replied under her breath. "Take it out with Twineedle!"

"Watch out!" Brock called, but it was too late. Ves was close enough to Geodude to get in the powerful (well, for her level) hit, knocking her foe out.

"Geodude is unable to battle, victory goes to Ashley."

"Geodude, return." Brock smiled at Ashley. "Very well done. Not many use Bugs here, so I'll admit I was caught off guard. No matter, let's see how you handle this! Onix, go!"

"Ves, take a break! Volta, you're up!"

' _ **Alright!'**_ They chorused, Ves dissolving into sparkles and Volta jumping onto the field.

' _ **A little rat?'**_ The great snake rumbled. ' _ **I'll squish it.'**_

' _ **Don't underestimate me.'**_ He replied, sparking.

"Agility!" Ashley interrupted, going for an early advantage. "Then charge!"

' _ **Anything else?'**_ He rolled his eyes, running forwards.

"Jump!" She called, sending him over Onix's tail. "Then drop!"

' _ **Nope. Nothing else.'**_ He sighed as he landed.

"Quick Attack! Get in close!" He bounced from the floor and into the rock snake's face, causing it to flinch. Volta's tail started shimmering, showing he'd caught on to Ashley's plan. "Iron Tail!"

' _ **Right on!'**_ He swung, cracking the now steel tail into him.

"Since when did Volta have Iron Tail?" Misty yelled.

"Since day one, pretty much!" She called back. "Drop and charge!"

"Onix, Rock Tomb! Don't let him land another hit!"

"Dang. You ever figure out Double Team?"

' _ **Nope, and I don't intend to try now!'**_ He called back, firing another Agility to keep ahead of the rocks.

"Great. Charge some electricity, but try not to release it!" Both Brock and Misty looked at her, confused. Volta was too busy trying not to get hit while following the order to spare a glance, and Onix hadn't caught up yet.

"You do realise Onix's a Ground type, right?" The Rock gym leader asked.

"Of course." She laughed. "You'll see where this is going." She felt a familiar presence brush her mind, and put up a small barrier. ' _No cheating Mew.'_

' _I could break that with half a thought.'_ She whined, removing the little psychic tendril.

' _ **Ashley? What now?'**_ Volta called, jumping off a rock.

"Quick Attack! Straight forwards!"

"This again?" Brock asked. "Onix, Rock Throw."

"Springboard!" She improvised, and Volta followed flawlessly, using the rock to push towards Onix while keeping his electricity charged. "Iron Tail and release!" Grinning as he realised what she was going for, Volta crashed his tail into the Rock type, and released the stored up power he had. The electricity took the fastest way out, through the conductive tail, and straight into Onix, frying him. He went crashing into the floor, and Volta landed next to him.

' _ **That hurt.'**_ He declared, wincing. The boy gave it a few moments to see if Onix would get up.

"Onix is unable to battle, the challenger wins!"

"Onix, return." As Brock returned the huge snake, Ashley ran out to Volta. "I must admit, that was very surprising. Here, the Boulder Badge. You certainly deserve it." He handed it over, then paused. "I need to ask, though."

"Go ahead." She replied, putting Volta on her shoulder.

"How'd you do that with Onix? I know for a fact that Ground types are immune to electricity."

"I'm wondering that as well." Misty said, walking over to her travelling companion.

"Electrical breakdown." She told them, then expanded. "I figured out a while before I left that, since everything needs a breakdown voltage, Ground Pokemon obviously do too. So, I sat down with a friends Golem and Luxray for about an hour, messing around with different voltage levels to no success. I then started looking at the fact that metals conduct electricity extremely well, so I borrowed them again and tested it then." She paused, waiting to make sure they understood. "It turns out that if it's conducted correctly and with enough power, using Iron Tail to conduct a Thunderbolt at a Ground type deals damage."

"How'd that knock Onix out, though?" Misty asked.

"Normally, the power wouldn't do enough to beat a stronger Pokemon, though it might get a weaker one or one at a similar level, so I messed with another feature of Electric types, the ability Lightningrod. Volta happens to have it, and I borrowed another Pokemon, a Togedemaru the Professor had to study thanks to a partner in Alola. This time, I had him channel electricity as a store, measured the voltage, and then Iron Tail release the electricity into the same Golem. Currently, it's still being researched by the Professor, but it seems that using Lightningrod with specific electrical patterns, like having tiny bursts pop up and drain back down, can trigger the ability, even with their own electricity. The ability Lightningrod makes a Pokemon's special moves more powerful, and that works for the Thunderbolt that's released too. So, long test shortened, I figured out a way to simulate the breakdown voltage of Ground types just enough to deal damage." Seeing their shocked stares, she blushed, looking down. "It's still a work in progress, and I think there's other factors at play, but I'll try and figure it out."

"That's… genius." Brock was beyond impressed. Clearly the little ten year old was much more than meets the eye. "Send me the results when you get more data, ok?"

"Sure. Though, if we prove it, it'll be on TV. If not, we'll keep working." She smiled. "Now I just need a Ground type for testing."

"Well, if you're on the gym challenge and heading for Cerulean, you'll be passing through Mount Moon." Brock told her. "Geodude like to hide out as rocks there, so you might get one of those."

"Thanks for that." She grinned. "I'll try and get one on the way through." Just then, Volta decided to yawn, effectively breaking up the conversation. "Ok, I get it. Let's get you to the centre. We'll start out tomorrow, I think it'll be too late to leave."

' _ **Ok.'**_ He smiled.

"I'll see you around Brock. Thanks for the tip." The Adept ran out the building, her redheaded friend in tow. Brock walked over to the window, watching them leave.

"She'll be going far." He grinned, dropping his team in a healer as he passed it in the back room.

* * *

 **AN: And done!**

 **K: That massive science babble that may or may not be true to life is our explanation for how the hell Pikachu keeps shocking the crap outta Ground types in the anime.**

 **SV: Well, formerly. None of us watched past Unova.**

 **K: I barely got through that. It sucked so bad.**

 **SV: Whatever. Anyway, no, we aren't forgetting Brock, don't worry about that.**

 **P: And we won't just start next chapter with Brock just there. He'll turn up naturally.**

 **T: Is the Geodude thing gonna happen, then?**

 **SV: Why not? May as well. Also, at some point I'll be putting a team log onto my profile for all three fics.**

 **T: *cough* Four! *cough***

 **SV: Right, sorry** _ **four**_ **fics. New Beginnings just has one, and I'll update it whenever it needs too.**

 **K: So, starting whenever we can be bothered, there'll be a team screen for you to stare at!**

 **P: The heck's up with Ki?**

 **SV: He met Darky and now they're both on a Naruto spree.**

 **T: So're you!**

 **SV: Not obsessed, interested. It's cool. Anyway, we'll see you all next time, and hopefully not talk about random crap in an AN for once!**

 **T & P: Doubt it!**


	8. Kanto 5

**AN: Hey guys!**

 **K: Howdy.**

 **SV: It's been a while of working on Second Start, so I've come back here to get this chapter done.**

 **P: These guys don't own Pokemon, and we'll let the chapter start rolling.**

 **K: I'm good with that. Have fun everyone!**

* * *

The three of them walked around the small, rocky area before Mount Moon. Mew had left a little earlier on, mentioning that she needed to keep an eye on the Tree of Beginning, since something odd was happening back there sometimes and she wanted to be careful. Ashley had spent a lot of time looking westward, towards the city that lay in a valley not far away.

' _ **Ashley?'**_ Volta asked her quietly. The two of them were a little away from Misty, and so could speak somewhat normally without drawing too much attention.

"Yes?"

' _ **Can you see if there's something wrong with Misty? She looks kinda ill.'**_

"Sure, I can check. Hold on a second." Ashley closed her eyes, focusing on her red haired companion. Normal human Aura, but tinted with fear and worry, similar to how she'd been in the Viridian Forest. She said as much to her starter.

' _ **There's no bugs here, are there?'**_

"Nope. Just Swift and Ves, along with the Paras that're sometimes around. We'll just have to ask her." Dropping her Aura Sight, she strode over to the Water trainer. "Hey Misty?"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Is something wrong? You look about as panicked as you were in Viridian Forest."

"It's nothing, alright? I'm just a bit anxious, that's all."

"Sure." Ashley rolled her eyes. "Seriously, what's up?"

"It's just…" She hesitated, then went ahead. "I don't want to go back to Cerulean."

"Why not?"

"My sisters and I come from there. They always used to bully me, so I left a few months back." She admitted reluctantly. "I've been wandering around since then."

"Ah." Ashley pursed her lips, thinking. "You could go on ahead to Vermillion or Route 6 and wait there with Ves while I go battle the gym. That way, I'll get my gym badge and you'll be able to stay out of Cerulean."

"Actually…" Misty trailed off, then dropped her bag on top of a rock, searching for something. "Let me see…" Ashley and Volta exchanged a confused glance, and Misty grinned. "Here we are." She turned, showing them a small blue badge sitting in her palm. "I always carry extras, just in case I need to do a battle."

"So you're the gym leader?"

"One of them. My sisters run the rest of it."

"So, we can skip over Cerulean and do a battle elsewhere?"

"If you wouldn't mind, yeah. I left to try and prove a point to my sisters, and I don't think I've managed to do that yet."

"That's fine." Ashley assured her. "I've no problem with it, though I'd like to get through Mount Moon first, simply because we're here now so we might as well pass through instead of taking another route."

"Alright." Misty agreed. Any further conversation was cut off by a startled shout. Ashley's head snapped up.

"Volta?" She inquired, a slightly commanding note to her voice.

' _ **A man, and a swarm of Zubat.'**_ He replied, ears twitching while he listened. ' _ **This way, I'll get them.'**_

"Good. Go." The small Pokemon dashed off, the slight blur of Agility showing how the speed increase had happened. His trainer followed, running much slower than the Pokemon, but still at a respectable speed. Misty lingered for a few seconds, looking at them confusedly.

 _How does she keep doing that?_ She thought, as she shook herself and followed them both at a walk. _She was understanding her Pikachu- Volta- perfectly, but she's only had him about two weeks. I've known trainers who've had their Pokemon much longer, and they can't understand a word. Heck,_ I've _had my team for nearly four years, and I don't know what they say. How does she do that?_ Much further ahead, and completely unaware of her partner's thoughts, Ashley was following Volta towards the disturbance. The little Electric type had much better hearing than she did, and she was nowhere near the point of using her Aura to improve her senses like some of the Kingdom's Lucario could. Then again, some of the Kingdom's Lucario could punch things hard enough to send them through the sound barrier, so perhaps they weren't an accurate representation.

' _ **Hey! Get away from him!'**_ Volta snapped up ahead, and a crackle of lightning gave indication that the swarm he was yelling at wasn't listening.

' _Volta, charge up and run at them.'_ She called, running to catch up. Hopping over a rocky outcrop instead of taking the time to walk around it, she barely caught sight of Volta bolting between the Zubat, hitting some as he passed. With a panicked fluttering, they squeaked back into the cave, and Volta dropped to catch his breath. A familiar figure was crouched over, also getting his breath back. "Brock?" She asked, confused.

"Oh! Hey Ashley!" The darker trainer looked up and waved. "I'd've thought you'd be through the cave by now."

"I made a pit stop for a team conference, so Misty went and got a bit lost. Had to find her before we got back." She replied, picking up Volta as she walked over. "But what're you doing here? I thought you ran the gym."

"I was, but some stuff came up and I thought-" He shook his head. "Nevermind. There's something really wrong inside Mount Moon. I went to try and find you, but got attacked by that Zubat swarm. Thanks for helping me, by the way."

' _ **No problem.'**_ The little Pokemon replied.

"Still, if something's up, I suppose we should investigate." Putting Volta on her shoulder, she picked out two Pokeballs. "Torna, Ves, help us out?" She released both. "Torna, fly back along the trail and guide Misty to us please."

' _ **Roger that.'**_ She mock saluted, taking to the air.

"Right, I understand the Pidgeotto, but why the Beedrill?" Brock asked.

"The best way to figure out what's going on is to ask some Pokemon that are in there." Ashley explained.

"Right, I get that. Why your Beedrill?" Ves giggled.

' _Because I'm magical.'_ She projected, making the Rock trainer jump.

"She's telepathic?" He asked, surprised.

' _Yepperooni! Dunno why, but I am!'_ She said cheerfully, buzzing a circle around them both.

"Well, I now see your point. Lead the way." Brock stepped aside, letting the Adept step through.

"First, a couple of preperation things." She paused at the entrance. "Volta, you ok after that?"

' _ **Perfectly. Might need to be a little careful with using too much electricity, but I'm good.'**_ Ves repeated it telepathically to Brock.

"Right. Ves, I'll assume you're fine, Torna should be when she gets back, and Swift…" She trailed off, thoughtful. "Hey Swift?" She asked, releasing him.

' _ **Yes?'**_ The Metapod asked. ' _ **What's up?'**_

"Go ahead. It's if you want to, that is, but go for it." The little bug grinned, or at least seemed to, and started to glow white. Ashley stepped back a little, letting the evolution take place. A slightly larger bug took his place as Swiftstreak evolved into a Butterfree, who fluttered nervously for a few seconds before Ves went over to help him adjust. Their trainer chuckled, and held out her arm to let them both land there.

' _ **Thanks Ashley.'**_

"Hey, it was your choice anyway." She reminded him. "Still, try and get used to it fast. We'll need to have you looking around the cave, since something's wrong."

' _ **What is?'**_ Ashley was about to answer, but the return of Torna cut her off.

"Give it a second." The group waited the few moments for Misty to arrive.

"Geez, you two really took off." The Water trainer laughed.

"Sorry. Volta heard something, so I followed what worried him. Anyhow, Brock says there's something up with the Pokemon in here, so we're going in on defensive. Swift was ready to evolve anyway, which helps."

' _ **Hate to break this up, but what about Torna?'**_ Volta asked.

' _ **I'll fly around the outside and see if I find anything.'**_ She replied. ' _ **Maybe some of the local birds know something.'**_

"Right." Ashley agreed, after taking a second to let Ves translate to the others. "Be careful though, alright? We won't be around to help you at all."

' _ **I know. I'll stay away from any Spearow, I promise.'**_ She joked. ' _ **If you need me, I think Ves can reach me with her telepathy. See you soon.'**_ The bird took off heavily, circling once before heading around the mountain. Quickly, Ashley filled the other Pokemon and Misty in on what was happening, and the group heading in cautiously.

"It's not supposed to be this bright in here, is it?" Ashley asked, confused.

"No. I didn't pass through here that other time, but it was definitely dark in here." Misty told her, just as befuddled.

"I think we've found what's disturbing the Pokemon, though." Brock decided. "If there's this much light in here, the Pokemon probably aren't used to it. It's likely hurting them, or at least making them uncomfortable."

"Well, there's one way to check." Nodding towards Vespine, the two of them went over to a Sandshrew in the corner, who was half buried in the sand. Ashley crouched next to it, blocking it from the view of the others. "Hey there. Are you ok?"

' _ **No no no.'**_ The little Pokemon squirmed. ' _ **It's too bright and dry.'**_

"Oh, you poor thing. Ves, can you…?" The little bee buzzed over to the bag Ashley had put down, since it held her Pokeballs and she didn't want to seem threatening, and took out a water bottle. Carefully pouring the water onto the little mouse, she asked another question. "Do you know what happened?"

' _ **No.'**_ He'd relaxed a bit with the water, and came up out of the sand. ' _ **I saw a few people here with something, but some humans leave markers around anyway, so I ignored it. Then it got really bright, so I tried to get away.'**_ Sighing quietly, he curled up a little.

"We've going to try and get rid of the lights for you." Ashley promised. She put the water away, passing it to Ves, and placed a gentle hand on his back, releasing a small pulse of healing Aura. "Can you tell me anything else?"

' _ **There was two humans. They had a little Pokemon too, like your Pikachu over there, but I didn't see what it was.'**_

"Right." Already forming her own conclusions about who these people were, she dropped the inquiry. "Thanks for the help. We'll go and try to get rid of the lights."

' _ **Thank you.'**_ He started to dig again, going back underground. The others joined over with her.

"You thinking what I'm thinking, Ashley?" Misty asked.

"About the two people and Pokemon?" She replied rhetorically. "Well, I'm thinking it's our friends the moron trio."

"That's about the conclusion I was drawing, yes." The redhead laughed. "So, what's first?"

"Well, I'd say we drive the Rocket's out if they're still here, just so they don't go hanging any more lights about. Volta, if you can track around, see if you can find the generator for the lights."

' _ **Right. I think I can do that.'**_ He scampered up to a rock and sat down, sparking slightly as he looked around for any electrical signals that were larger than the lights around them.

"What's he doing, anyway?" Brock didn't seem to have followed the conversation about Team Rocket, but he seemed curious about this, so she explained.

"He's looking for electrical signals. Sufficiently powerful or skilled Electric types can feel electrical charges really well, but any of them can find them with enough thought. That Togedemaru I mentioned could do it fairly easily."

"Actually, how did you get what they were saying when you were testing?" Brock inquired. "Did your Beedrill help you then?"

"No, I'd taken Ves back to her hive with a Luxray I'd borrowed for a while to help me."

"Then how'd you understand?" Ashley froze for a second, rapidly trying to compile some sort of excuse to explain away how she'd understood. Fortunately, she was saved by a small wailing coming from an adjacent corridor. All six dropped their task to follow it, letting Ves and Ashley lead the way. Rounding one of the turns, they found a young Cleffa crying.

"Hey there." Ashley said quietly, crouching down next to it. It jolted away, startled, and she smiled gently. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. What's wrong, little one?"

' _ **They took it!'**_ She cried.

"Took what?"

' _ **The Moonstone! I was going to join the others with my piece and then I got attacked! They took my shard piece so we can't finish the Moonstone!'**_ The little Fairy was clearly upset, so Ashley carefully picked her up.

"Don't worry. We'll help get it back." Turning back to the group with the Fairy type in her arms, she grinned. "Volta, keep looking for the generator. Swift, Ves, we're going to need to keep this little one out of trouble."

"Did someone say trouble?" A voice echoed.

"Make it double." In union, everyone except Brock and the Cleffa facepalmed.

"And theory confirmed!" Ashley groaned, cutting the growing motto short. "The moron trio is here."

"Hey!" Jessie yelled. "We aren't idiots!"

"You'll need to prove that." The Adept challenged, more than ready to get rid of them even with their short appearance.

"Then we will." The pink haired trainer clearly had a very short temper, as she took a Pokeball and glared at James to help her. "Ekans, go!"

"Koffing, go!"

' _ **Shall I?'**_ Volta asked.

"No, keep up with your own stuff. Swift, Ves, you're up." The two Bugs moved into position between them. "Gust!"

"Poison Sting!" The duo countered.

"Ves, Fury Attack! Swift, drop Gust and Confusion to hold them!" The two Poison types were surrounded by a pale pink aura, which held them still so that Vespine could charge in with a Fury Attack unharmed. The Poison Sting continued forwards, through no more were added to the cloud of them, and after about four hits Swift had to drop the two Pokemon to dodge around them. Finally living up to his name, he dropped quickly underneath the Poison moves to catch the Pokemon again with a blast of Psychic energy, knocking them into the wall as Ves moved around to join him.

' _ **Good one Swiftstreak.'**_ She praised.

' _ **Thanks partner.'**_ He grinned. ' _ **I'm still getting used to the flying, but it's certainly easier than walking.'**_

' _ **It was the same for me. Course, I'd had a couple of months to get used to it before I joined you guys, but when I first evolved, I felt the same.'**_ The other acknowledged.

"Hey! Why don't ya pay attention ta us!" Meowth shouted, earning a surprised glance from Brock.

"Yes, the Meowth can talk. Why is that any different from Ves?" Misty interrupted the coming question, already well acquainted with the talking cat, thanks to the two meetings they'd had.

"I guess it's not." He admitted.

"And to answer your question, they don't care because you're not a threat." Ashley grinned. "To show you proof of that, go ahead you two." They laughed, before Swift shot forward at a slightly ridiculous speed, crashing into Meowth and knocking him into his teammates. At the same time, Ves pushed the now knocked out Poison types from the wall and added them to the pile, trapping the three below their Pokemon. "And fire." Both Bugs were returned, and Ashley dove out of the way, still holding Cleffa. The reason for this was shown a moment later, when Volta was revealed to have been charging behind her back. Both her companions traded a startled look, then decided Ashley had the right idea and followed suit. Yellow light flared, and the group of Rockets was sent flying out through a convenient hole in the ceiling. Faintly, the cry of "Team Rocket's blasting off again!" was heard, as well as a twinkling sound. A small, black stone dropped to the ground where they had been, and Cleffa gasped.

' _ **That's it! That's the shard they took!'**_ She struggled out of Ashley's arms and over to the piece, while Ves released herself again to translate, with Swift following soon after. The little Pokemon grinned widely. ' _ **Thanks for helping get it back.'**_

"No problem." She replied. "Maybe Swift and Ves can escort you where you need to go while we go and find out how to break these lights."

' _No problem Captain!'_ The Beedrill mockingly saluted. ' _Come on Swift, you heard the boss. Let's help this little one back.'_

' _ **Alright Ves.'**_ He laughed. ' _ **So, where do you need to go?'**_

' _ **Ummm…'**_ She looked around for a moment, then pointed. ' _ **This way. We go to a cave with the Moonstone in.'**_

' _Right. We'll see you around later.'_ Ves waved. ' _You'll have to figure out Volta's words yourself, though, so good luck with that.'_

"I'm sure we'll manage." Ashley laughed. "Now go on." Both Bugs fluttered away, following the Cleffa they'd helped, while Volta sparked slightly.

' _ **I think it's this way.'**_ He announced, walking down one of the hallways. ' _ **Come on.'**_ They followed him quickly, not wanting to lose him in the twisting cave system they were navigating. Sometimes he'd stop, ears twitching as he tried to locate the generator he'd been following, and the rest would stop too, waiting for him to find it again. The walk was mostly silent, due to the fact of no one having anything to say about what was going on. Eventually, Ashley broke the silence.

"How close are we Volta?"

' _ **Pretty close.'**_ He replied. ' _ **It's that way a few metres, I think.'**_ He pointed a few times, trying to make sure the others got the message.

"So, that way?" Ashley pretended to guess.

' _ **Yup, I think so.'**_ He continued walking, the slight crackling sound following him as he sensed for the generator's massive power bank. ' _ **It's a pretty powerful signal, so I'd think we're getting close. We'll be able to shut the lights off real… soon?'**_ He broke off, confused.

"What's wrong?" She asked, concerned. She needn't have asked. A few seconds later, all of the lights went out with a small crack. Misty shouted in alarm, and everyone jumped. Instinctively, Ashley swapped to Aura Sight, the years of practising Aura in dark areas coming back to her. When Mew had helped her learn, it was mostly learning the simple things like Aura Sight and Aura Sphere, as well as reaction tests. This had lead to Mew making a cave appear, blocking the light, and getting her to swap to Aura Sight in order to find her. This had later been improved by Mew firing small attacks at her; nothing serious, but a few Water Guns and Sand Attacks to try and distract her, as well as give an added bit of pressure to being able to get Aura Sight working quickly. As such, one of Ashley's natural instincts was to switch to Aura Sight to find the Pokemon that would be attacking her shortly. After a few seconds of nothing more following, she relaxed, instead using Aura Sight to check on her companions. Misty and Brock were fine, if a bit frightened. Volta was also fine, just confused. Everything else was different shades of blue, and in the distance she could see Torna's Aura pattern, as well as the shades for Swift and Ves. A massive group of pink signaled the Fairy type, which Ashley guessed was from the Cleffa and Clefairy, perhaps with some Clefable there too. However, the main thing that caught her eye was a pattern with practically no colour that might indicate a type. It was, however, panicked enough that it made her worry.

' _ **What on earth was that?'**_ Volta asked the air, confused.

"Is everyone alright?" Ashley asked, pretending not to understand Volta and also pretending she didn't know already.

"Yeah." Misty replied shakily. "I'm fine."

"I am as well." Brock confirmed.

"Same here. Volta, can you give us some light, maybe?"

' _ **Not like you need it, Adept.'**_ He laughed, before sparking his cheeks to make a dim, yellow glow. As he did, Ashley disabled her Aura Sight and turned around to face her friends.

"What do you think happened?" Misty questioned.

"I don't know. Maybe the generator got turned off somehow?" Brock guessed.

"Volta?" Ashley inquired, glancing down.

' _ **It's just gone.'**_ He confirmed. ' _ **No signs of power at all. It might be destroyed.'**_

"Think you can follow where you thought it was?"

' _ **It's possible.'**_ He acknowledged. ' _ **Follow me, I'll do what I can.'**_ The group walked after him at a much slower pace than they had before, due to the darkness making it much harder to find their way around. Ashley was occasionally flickering between Aura Sight and regular sight, checking where they were against where the panicked Aura signal was. To her surprise, they were heading almost straight for it, though they obviously took detours from the almost direct path to head around the corners that appeared in the naturally maze like tunnels of Mount Moon. Soon enough, Volta stopped dead, sniffing the air.

"We're here?" Ashley asked, lowering her voice slightly for a reason that no other in the group could disconcern.

' _ **Yep.'**_

"I think there's something here, and that something turned off the generator. I say proceed carefully, just in case it's hostile."

"Right." Misty and Brock took Pokeballs off their belts, ready to call for a quick attack if it was needed. Ashley and Volta went first, the Pikachu still sparking enough to provide light, though most of it was going back to his voltage wells, ready to attack. Meanwhile, Ashley charged a minute amount of Aura to her palms, keeping them faced away from her companions behind her. If worst came to worst, she had no qualms about revealing her talents to them and explaining later, but there was no reason not to be cautious if she could avoid it until later. As such, she had enough Aura in her hands that she could form an Aura Sphere in a few seconds, in which hopefully Volta would attack to help buy time for Misty and Brock to release their Pokemon and help them out. And if she got hurt doing it… well, Mew was another thing she might have to explain away sooner than she might like.

Luckily for them, it all seemed to be a false alarm. Nothing jumped out and attacked them, even after they had been in the cavern for a good few minutes, plenty of time for a surprise attack. Eventually, Ashley lowered her Aura slightly, still holding enough to attack, but less likely to need to.

"I guess there's nothing here." Brock said, breaking the expectant quiet that had befallen the group.

"Guess not." Misty stepped forwards, away from them, and looked over the generator that had been powering the light system. "So, this is the thing?"

"Looks to be it." Ashley confirmed, also stepping over. "I wonder what happened to it?" Volta hopped up, still crackling slightly but making sure to keep it away from the main parts, to avoid setting it off, and sniffed around.

' _ **There's a weird scent here…'**_ He muttered. ' _ **It's not like any Pokemon I've smelt before.'**_ Ashley stepped away a little, appearing nonchalant about it, and went to look at the walls. As soon as her back was turned, she routed her Aura back upwards, reactivating Aura Sight between blinks. Taking a second to search the area, she blinked again, confused. The unpatterned Aura was close, on her left she guessed, and seemed even more worried than it had been. Carefully, she stepped closer, and the Aura shuffled back slightly in time with her movement. Instead, she looked down, staring start towards the Aura before disabling her sight and dropping into a crouch. The entire group looked over to her, evidently confused, but she raised a hand, signalling for them to be quiet. She crept over, nearing the little thing that gave off the pattern she'd been feeling. For a moment, a little green shape poked out from behind a rock, but it was gone in a flash. It was enough for the Aura Adept, though, so she spoke quietly.

"Hey there. Are you ok?" She asked, purposefully keeping her voice low and calming, like she had done for the other Pokemon in the cave, but at a much more caring scale. The creature didn't answer, so she kept talking. "We won't hurt you. We're friends here. Don't worry." Nothing moved for a few minutes more, and Ashley had nearly given up when a small, green head emerged. "There you are. See, we aren't going to hurt you." The creature seemed to agree, as it fully revealed itself a moment later. Ashley blinked. It wasn't like any Pokemon she had learned about before, with Mew or otherwise. It was flat, practically two dimensional, and a perfectly uniform emerald green, with a patch in the centre that was a slightly darker shade. It seemed to only have one eye, the other being nothing more than a tiny spot of white, but it didn't appear to be from damage. In fact, it didn't seem to be injured at all, despite the small whining sounds it was making. "Are you ok?" It seemed to nod. "Can you talk?" The little dark patch on its back lit up for a moment, then flashed a few times in a seemingly random pattern. After it faded, she glanced at Volta, who shook his head. "Ok, maybe you can, but we can't understand you." It whined again, depressed. "We'll try though. Are you lost?" Nod. "Do you know where you are?" Shake. "Do you live here?" Shake. Pointing at Volta. "Do you know what Pokemon that is?" Nod, and a sound that was like a chuckle. "Do you know a lot about Pokemon?" Another nod and chuckle. "Are you a Pokemon?" A nod, followed by a shake of its head, then a small wiggle. "So… sort of?" Ashley guessed, to a nod and cheerful sound.

"A sort of Pokemon? What the heck is it?" Misty sounded worried, as she would when Bugs came into the equation, and Brock laughed.

"Well, I'd guess that's what Ashley's trying to find out."

"I am, yes." She rolled her eyes discreetly at Volta, who giggled before going back to looking at the little Pokemon, who seemed to be smiling as well. "So, are you from a different region?" It sat there for a minute, thinking, before shaking in an approximation of a shrug. "You don't know?" Nod. "Well, let me get you out of this cave at least. Maybe you can find your way back from there." It nodded again, so she gently picked it up and settled it on her right shoulder. "Volta, do you think you can lead us back?"

' _ **Sure, I think so. I'll just follow our scents back.'**_ He smiled. ' _ **Just gimme a sec.'**_ Motioning for the humans to step back, he dropped into the machine and released a powerful shock, blasting apart the inside with a huge flare. He popped out again, grinning. ' _ **Broke it down. Nothing in there's working again.'**_

"Good one." His trainer smiled back, gesturing for him to lead the way before glancing at the thing on her shoulder. "Did you break that machine?" It nodded slightly, wobbling for a moment before Ashley put a hand up to hold it steady. "I would ask why, but we don't understand you." It nodded again, sighing. "I guess you wish we could as much as we do, huh?" It seemed to laugh again and nodded, nudging her cheek. "Maybe we'll run into you again, and we'll be able to understand you then." She kept up a small conversation the entire walk back, telling the little Pokemon about Kanto. By the time she had finished describing the region, the little thing looked very confused. "I guess you really aren't from this region, are you?" It shook its head, seeming to be thinking more to itself than answering her. "Well, I don't know what I can do to get you home. Maybe my cousin's friend could help." It twisted its head, confused, and she elaborated. "My friend Crysta is a researcher in training in a region called Unova. She's pretty smart, so she might be able to get you home."

"Do you think she knows what the little guy is?" Misty asked, remembering the letter from back in Viridian.

"Maybe. Though if it isn't native to Unova or Sinnoh, it feels unlikely. We could always call Professor Oak, or see if we run into him. Heck, I could call Crysta and see if I can borrow Strike for a few days, just to visit Pallet Town and see him firsthand." Ashley reasoned. "But how about it? Would you like to stick around with us for a while until we can find a way to get you home?" It nodded happily, and she smiled. "Alright then. I'll call Crysta tomorrow and see if I can borrow Strike for a while."

' _ **Hey Ashley! We're nearly out now!'**_ Volta called from the front of the group.

"Really?" She asked, then looked around the others. "Oh yeah, we are." Walking out of the cave, she grinned, then was immediately attacked by Torna.

' _ **Where on earth were you?! I was flying around and saw a massive burst of electricity send something flying past, and I was confused, so I waited around a bit until Swift and Ves came out and they said you four were going to turn off the lights in there, then when all the lights went out we thought you'd be back but you were super late and-'**_

' _Alright Torna, let her breathe.'_ Vespine laughed, hovering over.

' _ **Oh, sorry.'**_ She released her trainer, who laughed.

"Don't worry too much Torna. And to explain, we ended up having a friend turn the lights off instead. This little guy." She pointed to the green Pokemon on her shoulder, steadying herself slightly as Volta hopped to the other.

' _ **Oh! What kind of Pokemon are you?'**_ Torna leaned forwards, peering at it. It flashed a few times, excited, but deflated when no one responded.

"No one seems able to understand what it says. I'm going to call Crysta tomorrow and see if I can borrow Strike for a while so I can head home and see the Professor. Maybe he'll know something."

' _ **Good plan, but there's a problem.'**_ Volta said. ' _ **You'll need to go to Cerulean City to get Strike from Crysta, and we planned to dodge around it.'**_

"Right, I'd forgotten that." Ashley grimaced, looking back at the Water trainer, who shrugged.

"We'll just go with your other idea. I'll stay in the woods around the town for a while, you get Strike and head to Pallet Town, and I'll meet you back near the Cerulean Pokemon Centre when you're done. Just send word ahead." Ashley's eyes lit up.

"Thanks. What about you Brock? Are you heading back to Pewter now?"

"Actually, I was kind of hoping I could come with you."

"Oh? How come? I thought you ran the gym?" Brock looked evasive for a moment, so she spared him the bother of answering. "Eh, nevermind. Just wait around with Misty, I guess. I'll try and be back as soon as I can, but knowing the Professor he might take a while."

"Right." Both trainers agreed, so Ashley returned her team. "Are you going to catch it?"

"Actually, that's a good idea." She looked at the little green Pokemon on her shoulder. "Would you mind if I did that? It'd mean we could travel a lot faster." It nodded, so she put out a hand for it to move onto while she removed an empty ball from her belt. "Just tap the little button." Holding it out, the Pokemon wriggled forwards and poked it with the little protrusion on its face. When nothing happened, they blinked.

"Why didn't that work?" Misty asked.

"Well, the only time that happens is if the Pokemon is already caught." Brock replied.

"Is that it?" Ashley asked the little Pokemon, who shook its head. "So, you're not caught, but uncatchable?" It shrugged. "I guess you wouldn't know either. Well, we'll just have to put both of you in my bag for the trip." Volta groaned.

' _ **That'll be fun.'**_ Ashley chuckled slightly, but gave no other indication that she understood.

"We'll go off to Cerulean, then. I'll send word ahead somehow. I'll do my best to be back the day after tomorrow either way, so I'll see you guys then." As the Adept ran off towards the city, the two of her friends started talking behind her, a conversation she didn't listen to out of simple courtesy. They were almost out of sight when she stopped, her attention drawn to a sign with a small, black scribble on the side. It was handwriting she knew well, since she'd mocked the terrible scrawl a few times when hurriedly borrowing notes for class to catch up, mostly happening when she'd spent a weekend practising Aura and ended up blowing herself up, resulting in a day off to recover. It hadn't happened often, luckily, but she'd still ended up needing to steal the notes from the previous day's classes to read herself. Silently, she read it. _Gary was here. Good luck Ketchum._ She giggled quietly. "Typical Gary." She shook her head and continued towards Cerulean at a slightly more peaceable pace than before. Volta was probably confused, but now was not the time.

* * *

 **AN: So, we've got a new teammate!**

 **K: Temporarily.**

 **P: Don't be a spoilsport. Even if it's only one chapter, it's still cool.**

 **SV: Yes, it is. Speaking of which, did anyone figure out what the mystery Pokemon is?**

 **T: Shadow, they have to have done. After all, if they've played through Pokemmmhhm- *Is jumped on by Pixie.***

 **P: Shut. Up. Some people still haven't gotten the game yet.**

 **T: Right, sorry.**

 **SV: But yeah, it's a temporary partner at the moment. Anyway, other than that, we've got the thing with Cerulean. No, it's not an error. While Ashley does have Crysta's X-Transceiver number, she's going to Cerulean so they have access to a transfer machine, since Crysta's in Johto at this point.**

 **K: I don't know if Shadow's figured out how this stuff works yet, but I assume that's next if you have, right?**

 **SV: Correct. Trade machines work as they do in the anime; each trainer puts the Pokeball of the Pokemon they're trading, and the ID of the trainer gets swapped when it's traded between trainers. If the swap isn't a trade, it's best to get a Nurse Joy or other league official like a Professor to change the holder ID of the trainer, which takes a little longer to pass through the systems than a trade does. Transfer machines are my take on what the anime uses to send Pokemon to the Professor, for instance, if Ashley have six Pokemon and wanted to catch another without sending it to the lab, she could use a transfer machine to send a Pokemon to the lab and catch the new Pokemon.**

 **K: If that took too long to read, trade machines are for swapping Pokemon, ID swaps can be done by league officials but it's faster to just use a trade, and transfers are between two people without sending a Pokemon in return, like Crysta giving Strike without a return Pokemon from Ashley.**

 **P: Yes, that was definitely shorter.**

 **SV: Quiet. But yeah, that's what the difference is. Anyway, third, look! Gary's been mentioned!**

 **T: Shadow's said before that Gary will be making mostly anime appearances, but there are a few exceptions. These have been sort of awkward to write, but hopefully they'll be bearable.**

 **P: To be honest, the only person complaining is Ki, but for your peace of mind as well.**

 **SV: Now, I don't think there's anything else to talk about, so we'll leave it off here. If anyone has any questions about something that happened in the chapter that we missed off here, leave a review and we'll get back to it next time. Hope you've all enjoyed, leave a review, and we'll see you next time!**


	9. Kanto 6

**AN: Hello everyone!**

 **K: How's things? Today we'll be looking at our temporary team member from last chapter, so there isn't all that much progress to be made.**

 **SV: Sorry about that, but the little guy they found last time needs a conclusion too.**

 **P: Roll on the chapter! They don't own Pokemon.**

* * *

As Ashley bolted off towards Cerulean, Volta holding tightly to her shoulder and the strange Pokemon being held up by the girl's hand, Misty and Brock turned.

"There's something odd about her." Brock observed.

"I've noticed it too." Misty confirmed. "Back in Viridian, when we first met, she seemed to understand Volta perfectly, and again when he heard you being attack by the swarm of Zubat. Ves wasn't out then, and the first time we didn't even have her."

"Maybe they're just good friends?"

"She admitted in Viridian that they'd only met that morning." She told him. "She was good with Strike too, and Torna. Swift she calmed down when I startled him, and he willingly came with her almost straight away."

"What about Ves?"

"She hasn't really spoken about her at all, and I'll admit I want to know how she met Ashley. But it's eerie, almost. She's really good at finding her way around in the dark, understands Pokemon perfectly even when they've just met, and is really evasive about so much."

"How so?" Brock seemed confused.

"In the cave, you asked about her tests with the Togedemaru and how she understood what they were saying if she didn't have Ves. She froze, like she was trying to find an excuse."

"So, you think she's hiding something."

"I think she's hiding a lot of somethings. In Pewter at the center, I asked about Sinnoh, since she comes from there, and I saw her bracelet flicker. I've noticed she has a little crystal pendant that she wears. It's not a big gem, and I _swear_ that flickers blue as well. She knows way more than she should about Pokemon, and I never got a real explanation for how she helped Torna after she was attacked. And she practically _refuses_ to talk about Sinnoh. She'll talk for a bit, but always finds some way to get out of the conversation."

"Think we should ask her about it?" Brock seemed sceptical about her observations, and Misty didn't blame him. He'd only met Ashley the day before, and even though Misty had only known her for a little less than two weeks, she'd had more time to notice some of those smaller giveaways. Still, she shook her head.

"No. If she wanted to talk about it, she wouldn't be so evasive about it. I don't blame her for dodging around it, either. I've not known her much longer than you, and I didn't want to share why I didn't want to go to Cerulean, and that's pretty small."

"Still, understanding Pokemon is a rare talent." The Rock type trainer mused. "And if she's good at dodging around the issue like you say, then it's something she's learned to keep a secret."

"Your point being?" Misty inquired.

"Sometimes, with secrets like those, it's best to tell people you travel with, because it stops them from getting suspicious about it."

"I guess you have a point. Still, let's not press the issue on her. She'll tell us when she's ready." Misty looked over at the forest behind her. "I think I'll go see if I can do some fishing. What about you?"

"Not sure, honestly. Might just go look around inside the cave again." The two trainers split off, preparing to waste time until their friend returned.

* * *

"Hey Ashley!" A cheery voice welcomed her. "How's things?"

"Hey Crysta." She replied. "Thing's are great, thanks. We started our journey and I've got a pretty good team. How's your work going?" Ashley liked Crysta. Her cousins had introduced them when she was a kid, the twins being eight, and Crysta herself being fifteen. On the days her aunt couldn't keep an eye on them, Crysta did, and they'd all liked her. She wasn't sure how long after she'd moved that Crysta had started her researcher job under Professor Rowan, but she'd done it as a favour while in Hoenn, just after the first Sinnoh league.

"Quite well. I'm in Violet City at the moment, where Sprout Tower is, because there's quite a lot of Gastly in here. I'll be going to Ecruteak through a shortcut to speak with the gym leader there, then getting a train from Goldenrod to Saffron."

"Heh, maybe we'll meet in Saffron or Lavender Town."

"I'll try for that. So, what brings my friend to me?"

"Do you think Strike would mind if I borrowed him for a while? I've got to head back to Pallet to see the Professor."

"Well, I shouldn't think he'll have much of a problem with it. Still, if it's a researcher you need…?" She raised an eyebrow.

"We were trying to figure out what this little guy is." She reached up to her hair and pulled the small Pokemon out, where he seemed to be pretending to be a hairclip. "He's not from Kanto, from what I can tell, but we can't talk with him. I got Volta, my Pikachu, to try, but no luck." Crysta peered through the screen at the flat, green Pokemon for a few minutes.

"I can't say I recognise it. Sorry. Professor Juniper might know, but it'd be faster for you to fly over to Pallet." She took a Pokeball from her belt and put it on a transporter. Briefly moving her hand, and thus obstructing Ashley's view, she sent the Pokeball with her Flying type over. "There's Strike. When should I expect him back?"

"Probably tomorrow. I'll go drop this little guy," She put the small Pokemon back in its position on her head and took the Pokeball as she spoke. "With Professor Oak if we can't find out today."

"Alright. Is there anything else you need?" The Adept glanced over at the crowded desk of the Pokemon Center.

"If you hold on a moment, I'll get my team back and you can borrow Ves. She'll be pretty helpful with your research."

"How so? What kind of Pokemon's Ves?"

"She's-" A ping cut her off. "Hold on." Leaving the call for a second, she went over to get her team and the two eggs. Volta helped to put the containers in her bag, before sitting on his normal spot at her shoulder. Going back to the seat, she released Ves. "This is Ves. Ves, do you think you'd mind heading over to help Crysta with her research?"

' _Crysta?'_

"Crysta's Strike's trainer, remember?"

' _Yeah, I do. And sure, why not.'_

"Thanks." Returning her and putting the ball on the transporter, she smiled. ' _Have fun with telepathy.'_ She directed at the ball, before sending it over.

"Ok, a Beedrill. Why would a Beedrill be helpful for me?"

"Send her out." She waited a few moments for the little bee to be released, and she waved a stinger at her friend. Obviously, telepathy can't be heard through a screen, but Crysta's jump was enough to tell her that Ves had spoken.

"Well, it's nice to meet you too, Vespine." She looked back at the screen. "Why do you have a telepathic Beedrill?"

"We don't know either. Apparently she was born with the skill, but didn't really get it down until about a year ago, when I first met her." Ves must have added some comment behind them, as Crysta laughed.

"Just like you, Ashley. But thanks. We'll head up to the Sprout Tower, and maybe you can talk with some of the Ghost's there." Ves saluted, probably cracking some type of joke, and Ashley grinned as well.

"Keep her over there for a while if you want. I'll ask you if I need her back, and you can just send her to the Professor. He'll get her to me."

"Thank you. I'll keep her safe." Vespine rolled her eyes behind her.

"Please do. Bye." She waved, and both her friends on the other side returned it before the call ended. She stood and stretched, picking her way across the crowded center quickly. "So then, ready for the homeward flight?"

' _ **The both of us will be in your bag, out of the way. You'll be the only one who enjoys it.'**_ Volta reminded her.

"The bag's got more room than you'd think. You'll be fine." Heading out of town, she found a clear space and released the shiny Staraptor.

' _ **Hey Crysta, what'd you need?'**_ The bird asked, yawning behind a wing.

"You to notice that it's not Crysta would be a good start." Ashley joked, making him jump.

' _ **Wha-? Ashley? Why?'**_

"I need a lift back to Pallet Town, and Crysta didn't think you'd mind giving me a ride. It also gave me an excuse to let her meet Ves, so currently she's helping with the research."

' _ **I see. So, why're we heading back to your home, then?'**_

"I need to talk to Professor Oak about something I found." As she spoke, Volta reached up to take the Pokemon in question from her hair and balance it carefully on his own head, before reaching down to open the bag. "You be careful in there. Don't break anything."

' _ **I won't, don't worry.'**_ He replied, dropping down. She closed the bag after them, and Strike chuckled.

' _ **Well, climb on. I'll get you there as fast as I can manage.'**_

"Don't tire yourself out too much." She warned, climbing onto his back. "You'll have a chance to rest when we get there, but there's no reason to exhaust yourself."

' _ **Couldn't you help with that?'**_ He asked, rising into the air with a heavy flap of his wings.

"Probably, but it wouldn't be much. My Aura healing isn't that bad, but it's not as good as it could be. I haven't had much time to practise it, and that's not even counting the fact that my travelling partners don't know about Aura. I never really thought to learn it until about two months before I left, so it's slow going." She admitted.

' _ **Right.'**_ Banking slightly to catch an air pocket, the two soared across the forest that went past Mount Moon and would eventually connect to Viridian Forest. ' _ **So who's the other teammate? I'll assume you're still travelling with Misty.'**_

"Yeah, I am. It's Brock, the gym leader from Pewter."

' _ **Huh. Why's he traveling with you? Shouldn't he be running the gym?'**_

"I asked about that, but he seemed kinda hesitant to answer. I just let it go." She shrugged. "It's not my place to go demanding answers like that when I don't want to tell them some things myself. Well, I did to Misty, but if I hadn't we'd all be stopping at Cerulean, which she wanted to avoid anyway."

' _ **Oh? How come?'**_ Ashley spent the next few minutes explaining the events that had occurred in Mount Moon, while Strike turned himself to the left to start going southwest, heading almost directly for Pallet Town.

"So we're heading back to Pallet to see if Professor Oak knows what this Pokemon is, and where it comes from so we can get him back home."

' _ **Fair enough. I assume the little green thing that was in your hair pretending to be a hair clip is the Pokemon?'**_

"Yeah, it was. It's in the bag with Volta right now."

' _ **Well, you won't need to wait long. Pallet Town's just over there.'**_ He nodded forwards. ' _ **While I haven't been going at full speed, it's not that much of a distance to cross in the air. On the ground, going directly for it, I think you'd likely be going for about a week.'**_

"Good to know." She mumbled, looking around in Aura Sight at the sky. There wasn't really anything of note to be looking for, but she liked to see the Pokemon flocks in the sky more than she liked finding Pokemon on the ground. On the ground, the Aura given off by the surrounding areas tended to get in the way, and while it only really hid the Pokemon who were single typed and whose patterns blended in with the other colours, it was still a little annoying. In the sky, nothing got in the way, since there wasn't a signature for anything up there aside from Pokemon, and there weren't many of those. A flock of either Pidgey or Spearow, and on some rare occasions Pokemon from other regions might be spotted, but there was little around. "I guess we're heading down, then?"

' _ **In a second, yeah. Might want to hold on a little. You may be able to break your fall a bit with Aura, but I don't want to find out if you can do it from this high up, and I doubt you do either.'**_

"No, I really don't." She agreed, holding onto his neck as he started to descend. "Hopefully the Professor won't mind us dropping in like this."

' _ **I shouldn't think so. Your aunt'll be happy to see you, that's for sure.'**_

"What are you planning on doing while you're here?"

' _ **Not sure. If the Professor still has that Dragonite of his, I might spend a bit of time talking with him.'**_

"Yeah, Dragonite's still around. He goes off sometimes, so he might not be there right now, but it's pretty likely that he will be."

' _ **Good.'**_ He slowed down to almost a crawl, then shifted to land, slightly heavily, in the field near the door. He furled his wings, letting her slip off, quickly opening her bag before running over to the door. Volta peeked over her shoulder, the little green Pokemon on his head, and the Professor opened the door.

"Ashley? What're you doing here?"

"I borrowed Strike from Crysta to get lift back, 'cause there's something I want to show you."

"Ok… Why didn't you just call me?"

"Because I wanted to show you face to face." She held up a hand and looked over at Volta and the little Pokemon. "Come here, you." It crept onto her hand and looked up at Oak, before looking at her and flashing a few times. "Yeah, this is the Professor." He sat up and flashed again, like it was a greeting.

"Say, who's this?" He asked, stepping aside to let the trio in.

"We were hoping you knew." She replied, letting Volta jump off her shoulder and follow her inside. "We can't figure it out. I don't recognise it, and it doesn't seem to be a Kanto Pokemon."

"Hmmm…" He took it from her hand and put it on the side, next to a computer. "Has your Aura revealed anything?"

"No type to the Aura signature, looks about as plain as humans do." Ashley informed him. "Also, no translation. The little flashes are all we get, and it doesn't translate with Aura. Pokemon don't understand it either."

"I see…" Oak sat down at the computer and started scrolling through the Pokemon list he had- a special one that included images, if not information, of Legendary Pokemon, courtesy of Mew. "I don't think there's anything in this list that looks remotely like this little guy does, so either Mew didn't know about it-"

"Which is unlikely, since she made all Pokemon." The Adept put in.

"-Or it's not a Pokemon." Oak finished, glancing between her and the Pokemon.

"When I asked, it said it was sort of a Pokemon. Far too much pantomime was involved." She said.

"Right." The Professor started scrolling again, and Ashley drew up a seat next to them. "We're at the conclusion that it isn't a Kanto Pokemon, so we can remove that from the options."

"We also don't think it's from Sinnoh or Unova, since Crysta didn't recognise it either." Ashley told him. "It might be a Legendary from one of those regions, though I'm doubtful of that, because I know a lot of those, maybe all of them."

"Right. So we'll cut them out too, but that still leaves us with a lot of Pokemon to look at."

* * *

For the next half hour, the two slowly scrolled through the list of Pokemon. They crossed off most of the common Pokemon, or ones that looked drastically different to the small Pokemon beside them.

"I'm beginning to wonder if at this point we should just put the Legendaries on and work through that." Ashley sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Speaking of them, did you actually call any of your friends when you needed an answer to this?" The Professor asked, shooting her a glance. She shook her head.

"Didn't have a chance to. I can't really contact Sui, Rai or Entei, since I don't have a method to and they tend to roam around, and I last spoke to Mew in Pewter, and she told me that she wasn't going to be at the Tree for quite a while, since she's got jobs to do."

' _ **When'd she say that?'**_ Volta asked, from his place next to the tiny Pokemon.

"Just before she left. You weren't around, since you were with Misty." The Adept replied.

"Well, that's that idea out the window."

"Even if I could message the Beasts, it'd be going to their home, and since they act as a sort of messenger for the Legendaries, I probably wouldn't catch them anyway."

"I wonder where they all are…"

* * *

Misty had been fishing in a stream near to the cave entrance for about forty minutes. Normally, she would have chosen to head deeper into the surrounding forest to find a better stream than the small trickle of water she was at, hopefully one that was near a lake, but Brock was still in Mount Moon, and likely would be for a while, so she'd rather stay near the entrance so he could find her again. It was a shame, too. Since she'd grown up in Cerulean, she knew quite a lot of the good fishing spots around the area that had good Pokemon in them. She thought she'd seen a Feebas before in one of the spots, but it was so far away that there was no point in going. The fact that it was close to town had nothing to do with it.

Actually…

Misty reeled in the line again and stood, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She hadn't seen a Pokemon in the last ten minutes anyway, so she might as well move. There was a decent enough fishing spot a few minutes walk away, a fairly large pond that lead to a longer stream that would cross close to the entrance to Mount Moon and meant that Brock would still be able to find her, even without knowing much about the area. Folding the fishing rod to let her hold it easier, she headed over to the stream just downroute of the pond, which was often the place with better Pokemon anyway, and cast out the line. Sitting back against the tree that she'd picked for her to relax on, and watched the bobber float peacefully in the water.

"Perhaps I should let Staryu and Starmie out…" She mused. "Maybe in the pond. They might scare the Pokemon away if they float about in the stream for too long." So saying, she pinned the pole upright on a couple of conveniently placed rocks and fished the two Pokeballs from her bag, keeping an eye on the bobber at the same time. Walking up to the pond, the bobber still in her line of sight, she released the two starfish Pokemon and patted them on the head. "Hey guys. I'm doing a bit of fishing at the moment, so you guys can have fun for a while." Both of them made cheerful noises and dove into the pond, splashing their trainer with slightly green water. Misty yelped, then laughed. "Sorry I can't join you guys, but I'd like to focus on fishing for a while. Plus, now's not the time to get soaked through." Neither of her teammates seemed to pay attention, too busy happily chasing each other and repeatedly firing Water Guns in a little bit of a water fight. Giggling at the enthusiasm of the two, Misty headed back to the fishing pole and pulled it from the rocks, leaning back against the tree. Letting the bobber float calmly, her attention was drawn back to the game they were playing. Both Pokemon were pretty accurate with their shots, something which came from practise and innate instinct of them. On the occasions that they did miss their attacks, they would never travel far, hitting the trees and falling to the ground. One of their shots flew past the trees, and a startled bark followed. Blinking in surprise, Misty pinned the rod back onto the rocks and ran over, just as the starfish were getting out of the pond to see what had happened. Pushing away some of the bushes, she gasped at what she saw.

A quadrupled, dog-like Pokemon stood on the other side. It was mostly a light, watery blue with a white underside, and its coat had several white diamond shapes adorning it. Its face was also white, and a massive crystalline protrusion crowned its head, a dark blue in the shape of a hexagon, with two smaller protrusions at the sides. A purple mane waved across its back from just under that blue marker, and two white tails floated like ribbons on a phantom wind. At the redhead's gasp, it fixed its ruby red eyes on her. It cocked its head, then shimmered slightly with a blue aura before speaking.

' _ **Who might you be, human?'**_ It said, in a feminine voice. The shock of being spoken to by the creature froze her voice for a moment, but Misty shook herself.

"I'm Misty. Me and my Pokemon were playing here when we heard your shout."

' _ **Ah, so that's who hit me.'**_ It mused, sounding more amused than annoyed. Misty was glad about that; the Pokemon seemed to exude power, and she didn't like her odds of winning if it decided to attack. ' _ **You should be proud of your Pokemon. That was a powerful Water Gun.'**_ It stretched slightly, then stepped forwards. ' _ **If you will excuse me, I must get back to my duties. Good day to you.'**_ It leapt, soaring over their heads easily, and running onto the lake. To Misty's surprise, it ran _across_ the water, following the stream downwards and leaving the water in its wake crystal clear. It bounced over her fishing pole too, and left barely any ripples on the water below. All three of them stood stock still for a few moments after it vanished from their sight, staring in the same direction.

"I wonder what sort of Pokemon that was…" Misty muttered, before walking back to the fishing rod. Directing her attention towards her Pokemon, she called over her shoulder, "Try and be careful where you aim, you two!"

* * *

"Eh, probably nothing important to us." Ashley shrugged, then leaned forwards again. Something caught her eye, and she pointed it out. "Say, what about this?" It was a black, snake-like Pokemon, with multiple green spots and an entirely green underside.

"Hm?" Oak looked over at them. "Ah, you mean Zygarde?" Unnoticed by the both, the Pokemon perked up.

"Yeah. I remember Mew mentioning that Zygarde had little creatures that could act like spies and helpers, like a hive." The little green Pokemon flashed repeatedly, nudging her hand. She looked down. "Is that what you are? A little Zygarde spy?" It nodded, flashing.

"Well, that at least tells us where it comes from, if not why it's here." The Professor sighed, turning off the computer and leaning back. "So, how to get it home?"

"Well, it could just stay with me until we see Mew or one of the Beasts again." She offered. The Pokemon flashed once, sliding onto her hand. "I'll take as a yes, then." It seemed to laugh, flashing repeatedly. "So, what should we call you?" It, as well as Volta, looked up at her, confused. "Well, I can't really just keep calling you 'it' or 'the Pokemon', can I? So what could we call you?" They thought for a minute.

' _ **We could just call it Zygarde, if it's a part of that.'**_ Volta put forwards.

"We could, but that runs the slight risk of someone knowing what a Zygarde is and making things dangerous for us all." The Pokemon went over to the computer and poked it on again, then, having watched the two of them use the machine and figuring out how it worked, clicked on Zygarde's picture, bringing the name up. It wobbly stood up on the tip of its 'tail', covering the name so it left a little bit for them to read. "Zy?" Ashley read, looking at the small Pokemon. It nodded, then fell over flat. "So we should call you Zy while you're with us?" It flashed. "Well then Zy, welcome to the group, at least for a while." The newly named Zy cheered, crawling onto her hand.

"So how will you get a message to Mew?" Oak asked.

"I'm not sure. I reckon it won't take more than a few days to get to Vermillion, then a few more for Celadon. For Mew, 'a while' could be a month, or it could be three days." Oak winced, remembering one incident of that vagueness the pink Legendary could have when it came to time. "So I'll wait a while, then message the Tree when I get to Vermillion. If something comes up earlier, Torna knows where Rota is, so I'll send her along with a message and some stuff to keep her going, have her leave the message and come back. Mew'll come along the second she see's it."

"So why not do it now?"

"Because I'd rather not have an overly excited pink Legendary show up in the middle of a gym battle, a crowded area, or honestly with my friends." She deadpanned. "If I need her urgently in the next three days, or if she doesn't answer the first message in a day, then I'll send for her with Torna. I doubt Zy will mind having to stick around with us for a while longer than expected, even so. Isn't that right?" She looked at the little Pokemon, who flashed and nodded.

"I suppose if Zy doesn't have a problem with it, then that's fine. Are you going to catch it then?"

"Can't. Pokeballs don't work on it." She took an empty one from her belt on put it down. Zy, getting what she meant, crept down and poked the button, which summarily refused to activate. "We tried it when we decided we were going to come here." Ashley put the Pokeball away and transferred Zy to her hair, where it proceeded to retake its disguise as a hair clip.

"Well, given that you're here, do you mind if I take a look at those eggs you got?" The Professor suddenly got very eager, and she laughed.

"Sure, just be careful with them. I'm going to go and drop in on Aunt Delia while you do, then we'll head back."

' _ **Ashley, please pass on the message that if he does anything to those eggs, I'll shock him into next week.'**_ Volta said, sparking threateningly. With a mostly hidden smile, she did, then looked back at Volta as the Professor flinched, taking off her bag to get the eggs out.

"We should start training you guys in Aura properly. Being able to translate yourselves would be useful."

' _ **Even though we won't be using it until you chose to tell Misty and Brock about your Aura.'**_ He reminded her, as she put the containers on the side and put her bag back on.

"I'll get around to it." She said shortly. "We'll be back in an hour or so. Volta's threat stands. See you then." Letting Volta jump up as they left, she sent a message to Strike, who was flying around the back of the ranch. ' _Gone to see Aunt Delia, be back soon.'_

' _ **You said that about Misty and Brock, but you told me about Aura straight away.'**_ Volta pushed. ' _ **How come?'**_

"It's easier to trust someone with that kind of secret when they can't run and tell others." She replied, somewhat tightly. "At least, not anyone that might get me killed. From what little I know, most Pokemon see Aura Adepts as inherently trustworthy, since Riolu and Lucario have the same power and sense of justice. And while there _are_ evil Adepts in history, they're pretty rare. Even then, most of the time Adepts have a Lucario partner who tells them if the path they're walking on is a bad one."

' _ **I guess that's fair.'**_ He allowed. ' _ **Even just understanding Pokemon is a talent that most would want control of. I think they'd probably be just as bad for someone with a rare talent like Aura.'**_

"When Mew gets here to deal with Zy, I'll have her scan over them. I'll decide based on that." Knocking a few times on the door to her aunt's house- though she'd come to think of it as her house over the last few years- she smiled at her partner. "I will do it, eventually. It just might be a while."

* * *

Almost an hour and a half later, Ashley, Volta and Zy walked out of Cerulean again, heading back towards Mount Moon. They'd spent an hour at their house talking to Delia, who had spent the first few minutes of their visit cooing over Zy. When that hour was over, the three had headed back to the lab to pick up the eggs and get ready to go. Unfortunately for them, the Professor had had other ideas, questioning Ashley about the eggs and Ho-oh, which she did her best to answer. She couldn't say much, and resorted to just telling him about the encounter they'd had with her (The Professor had had another field day when she'd told him that the Ho-oh they'd met was female, despite him already knowing that Legendary Pokemon did in fact have genders, thanks to spending five years with Mew and the Beasts randomly dropping into the lab.) and talking a bit about the Lugia that one of the eggs had come from. After that, is was simply a matter of packing the eggs away and waiting for Strike to get back to their end of the ranch, which he did when Ashley sent a telepathic call for him. Volta and Zy had gone into her bag for the trip back, which Strike had taken at a much more leisurely pace than the flight there. They'd passed over the forest, as well as the spot near the Mount Moon entrance, quite low, but still high enough to be out of easy calling distance. Ashley had spotted Brock waiting at the entrance, and chose to use Aura Sight to find Misty if she wasn't there when she got back from sending Strike over.

Upon landing outside of Cerulean and returning Strike, as well as letting Volta and Zy out of the bag to resume their normal positions, she'd made a quick trek back to the Pokemon Center, where Crysta had sent back Vespine in exchange for Strike, saying that she was grateful for the help and was thinking about getting a Natu or some other Psychic type to translate for her. Ashley had recommended Eevee for an Espeon, and gone on to tell her about a few places in Johto where she'd heard Eevee were fairly common, like the Safari Zone. After a few more minutes of chat, they'd rung off, leaving Crysta with a promise that Ashley would tell her about Zy when they next saw each other. Now that they were leaving the city, they were all quiet, not really having anything to say to each other and just enjoying the peacefulness of their surroundings. Mount Moon's entrance wasn't all that far away, so Ashley had taken to occasionally flickering into Aura Sight to see if Misty was back with Brock. Luckily, she was, so they wouldn't need to go hunting for her in the forest.

"Hey Ashley!" The Water type trainer yelled, waving at her. "How'd things go?"

"Great!" She called back, running slightly to get over to them. "We figured out what the little guy is, and I think I know where it comes from."

"That is good news." Brock said. "So what's the deal?"

"It's a Zygarde piece. Zygarde's a Pokemon from Kalos, thought to be a Legendary. It's one of the few Legends that people actually know a bit about, since it has a static home in a mountain there. It normally stays in a cave, and it has little pieces that act like helpers or spies, keeping an eye on the world around it. Some folks over there actually call them a Zygarde hive, because they act kind of like insects." Belatedly, Ashley realised that she might be crossing into the territory of knowing more than was safe, and switched topics. "I've got a friend that might be able to get it back home, but they're away at the moment and I don't have a number to call for business. She should be back from that trip in about a week, so Zy's sticking with us until then."

"Zy?" Misty asked.

"We decided we needed to give it a name of some kind to use while it travels with us, and calling it Zygarde could be risky, if someone knew what it was. It decided on Zy itself."

"Say, what does this Zygarde thing look like, anyway?" Brock asked.

"There aren't many pictures of it, but there's enough bits that I could try and draw one, given a bit of time." She lied, almost flawlessly. "I'll start it tonight, if you'd like."

"Sure. Are we bothering to camp, or shall we drop into Cerulean to stay overnight?" All three of them looked at Misty, who shrugged.

"I don't mind going." She replied, a slight quaver in her voice. "I'd rather not, and I'm not going too close to the gym, but we can head that way." Ashley smiled reassuringly at her friend.

"Don't worry. We've already arranged to do the gym battle elsewhere anyway, so I'm fine avoiding it." The trio started walking, chatting together about what they'd done.

"Actually... Ashley, you know a lot of Pokemon, right?" Misty asked, during her story.

"Yeah…?" Suddenly slightly cautious, she nodded.

"Well, Starmie accidentally shot a Water Gun through the trees, and it hit a Pokemon. It don't know what it was, and it never mentioned, so I was wondering if you knew."

"I can try, but… wait. Did you say it never told you?"

"Yeah. The Pokemon flashed blue for a second, although that could just be a trick of the light, and then it spoke and I could understand it." Misty explained, then looked suspiciously at her. "Why? Does that mean something?"

"It might." She replied quietly. "What did it look like?"

"It was quadrupled, mostly blue, but with a white underside. It's paws were completely blue as well, and it was a light blue, like really clear water. It had white diamond shapes, and a darker blue hexagon with two spikes on it's head. It had a purple mane and two tails that floated towards the front of it's body." The redhead rattled off. For a second, Ashley froze, but she shook it off quickly, hoping that neither of them had noticed.

"I don't think I know a Pokemon like that." She quickly lied. "At least, not of the top of my head. I'll think about it tonight, and maybe after I finish patching a rendition of Zygarde up for you out of the blurry pictures I've seen, I might try and do a drawing based on what you described just then and you can tell me if it's right in the morning." Unnoticed by the Adept, her two companions traded a glance.

 _She's hiding something._ Misty thought. _Something she really doesn't want us to learn about. I wonder what it could be…?_ Across from her, Brock was a little more studious.

 _She stumbled when Misty mentioned that the Pokemon spoke to her, and when Misty described it. She seemed to know a lot about Zygarde, too. Even if a lot of people in Kalos know about it, she still knows a lot, even able to draw it. And with what Misty told me about her ability to understand Pokemon as well as she does, those odd eggs she has and refuses to talk about, and the fact that she won't talk about Sinnoh much… There's definitely something going on with her, but I don't think there's any way to force her into revealing it, either by confronting her directly or tripping her up so she talks about it._ In the Aura User's own thoughts, she was bothered by something slightly different.

 _I don't know how long I can keep this up. It's only a matter of time before one of them gets suspicious, then both of them likely will. I need to hope I can call Mew as soon as possible, to get them checked over and see if she reckons they're trustworthy. Mew may act like a child, but she'll get the job done. Until then, I'll just have to try my best to mislead them into thinking there's nothing odd until Mew gets here._ Glancing up at the sky, she noticed it was close to sunset and spoke, breaking the others from their reprieve. "It's getting dark. Come on, let's hurry up." Both her friends gave their agreements, Brock much more readily than Misty, and they hurried on, banishing their suspicions from their minds, at least for the time being.

* * *

Far away from this group of travellers, a small shape rustled in the bushes. Unlike the group, the thoughts on its mind were panicked. _It's been three days now. So many of them are sick, and we can't figure out why._ The creature in the bushes coughed and stumbled. _Even I'm starting to feel the effects, and so's Mel, and she's not even a Pokemon!_ The Pokemon stomped, a small, muffled noise in the silence of the fast approaching night. _We need to figure something out, and soon. Please, Mew or Arceus or whatever other god there is here, send us something to help._ It shuffled off, a slow pace that was occasionally halted by coughing and wheezing.

* * *

 **AN: Oh dear.**

 **K: Things don't look good for Ashley. Her teammates are starting to get suspicious of her.**

 **P: Why're you so worried about that? There was a sick Pokemon at the end, and it might be serious!**

 **T: Calm down Pix. I think we all know that's set up for something, and given that Shadow's the person writing, and the fact that it's a decently major hint at the end of the chapter, it's probably set to be resolved next chapter.**

 **K: Moving along from that, I like that we're keeping Zy the Zygarde hive member on the team until further notice.**

 **SV: Yeah, it'll be sticking around for a good couple of chapters. If anyone didn't figure it out from last time, and didn't get it here, Zy is a Zygarde Cell.**

 **P: However, due credit to ivystar and TheDoctor1998, for recognising it to be a Zygarde piece at least, although not a Core like you said.**

 **T: Shadow was pretty confused about what Squishy had to do with a Zygarde Core, since she still hasn't watched the Kalos anime yet.**

 **SV: I'm waiting for a long holiday so I can watch it all in one go, or as close to it as I can get. I do know a fair bit, and I was only confused for a second, Trix.**

 **K: Right. Anyway, Shadow, I believe you wanted to mention a few things?**

 **SV: Yes I did. Something I've mentioned over in my most recent chapters for both New Beginnings: Second Start, and Child of Mew. In my chapters, there are often little hints and nods to future events that I like to add. The bit at the end is a larger one of those, but more often they're tiny things that you need to spot and won't make sense at the time. I like mysteries, and I like writing mysteries because I like to read what people think. Some of the Child of Mew chapter ends and the thing with Zy was one of them. There aren't many in this fic, because it's mostly linear and follows a story without the need for mystery. I'm putting this here because I want to see what you can make of them.**

 **P: Also, we'd like you to know that we lost internet access for two days, so that's why this chapter's late.**

 **K: Other than that, I don't think there's much to add. The profile is getting the new updates as per usual, and hopefully you're more aware of the little secrets in our fics.**

 **SV: So we'll see you all next time!**


	10. Kanto 7

**AN: Hey everyone!**

 **P: What's today?**

 **T: Well, if we look at the timeline… oh, who am I kidding! I think we all know what comes after Cerulean!**

 **K: I hope so. You could also just look at the end of the last chapter and make a guess.**

 **SV: Well, how about we just get started on the chapter then? Don't own Pokemon, let's go!**

* * *

The entire group was up and ready to leave extremely early the next day, simply because Misty didn't want to hang about in Cerulean for much longer. As usual, Ashley was up before them, and nudged Volta awake.

' _ **Don't wanna.'**_ He complained, rolling over.

"Volta, get up. We're leaving soon and I'd like to practise."

' _ **Alright.'**_ He groaned, sitting up and blinking. ' _ **Hope we don't explode anything.'**_

"Just be careful. Focus on getting Aura to your paws, and make sure you tell me before you try and make Aura Spheres." She instructed, starting to shape the attack herself. "When we get into the forest, we can start making excuses for getting out of the campsite and somewhere far away. Plus, any explosions from Aura can be played off as training."

' _ **It is training.'**_ Volta replied, sitting next to her and focusing himself.

"True." She paused, thinking. "Actually, it might be a good idea to focus on getting the passive boost to a high enough level."

' _ **Passive boost?'**_

"Aura can be manifested, or it can be used to boost. The boost has two versions, active and passive. Active need to be activated- it's kinda in the name- and Adepts like the Kingdom's Lucario use it to climb walls, run faster than sound for about ten seconds and some older ones can hit the light barrier for about a second before they need to stop, and punch things through the sound barrier. Passive happens when you unlock Aura and can be made more powerful with practise. It's not as good as the active boost, but it's good for fighting, running, that sort of stuff." She lectured. "I'm not nearly good enough to use an active boost with any worth, but running is a bit faster and I tire slower than I should."

' _ **So, if we get this passive boost to be strong enough, it'll help in the League.'**_ Volta summarised, still focused on flowing Aura around. The yellow coating flickered as he spoke, but settled when Ashley took over with a laugh.

"Yeah. Plus, something like brushing the light barrier is great. It's like teleporting without a flare. 'Mya' mentioned once that the only time she hates teleporting is when that flare goes off, because it announces your presence."

' _ **So can Mya do it too then?'**_

"Nope, but she wishes she could. The flare comes from going _faster_ than light speed by a lot, because… you sort of put a bubble up, then when you hit the speed of light it collapses around you and any passengers to make sure you don't get squashed by the speed."

' _ **Great. Now I'll be petrified of teleporting forever.'**_

"It's only dangerous if the person you're going with is inexperienced. Most Pokemon are taught by their parents, while Mya and most the others just knew how already."

' _ **Right, so going with Mew is perfectly safe. Good.'**_ A soft knock on the door interrupted their conversation, and startled both of them enough for the Aura to fade.

"Ashley? You awake?" Misty's voice, still a little nervous from before, drifted through.

"Yeah, I am." She stood up, opening and looking around the edge of the door. "I'll be ready to go in a minute."

"Alright. We'll meet you downstairs." The red haired girl closed the door as she left, then Volta pushed it open again.

' _ **I'll wait with them.'**_ He told her, leaving quickly. She chuckled, getting ready as she did so, picked up her bag and got halfway to the door again before pausing. Putting it back on the bed, she opened it to see a little green Pokemon looking up at her. Zy had opted to stay in her bag overnight for whatever reason, so she picked it up now.

"Have a good night?" It flashed a few times, then seemed to remember the language issue and nodded instead. "That's good. We're moving now, so we'll be in the forest for a while." It nodded again, so she assumed it was fine with that and put it back in her hair, promptly regaining her hairclip. Finally getting moving properly, she put her bag on over one shoulder as she hurried down the stairs to the lobby.

"Let's get moving before someone recognises me." Misty begged. "I don't want to face my sisters."

"Alright. Lead the way, we'll go through the forest."

"Right." Somehow, Misty and Brock managed to contain their curiosity until they left the city, when the older boy turned to her.

"So, did you get any of that picture stuff done?"

"Started the Zygarde one. It's not very good, Zy'll probably laugh himself silly, but the other Pokemon I'd like Misty to describe again to see what I can do." Volta had made his way back to her shoulder at some point, and laughed lightly.

' _ **Yeah, because you definitely need that.'**_

"Well, we'll stop and take a break around midday. We should do that then." Brock told her, to a careful nod.

* * *

As Brock had promised, they stopped at a nice pond near midday. Everyone's Pokemon were out, and they were enjoying some time to talk. Brock had done the cooking, a fact that had had Ashley _swearing_ he had a pocket dimension of his own, and they'd all helped clean it up. It was actually just as Misty was sitting down next to Ashley, ready to start describing the Pokemon again so she could try and draw it, that Ves and Volta drew her attention to something of greater importance.

' _Hey Ashley, we've got a problem over here.'_

"What's wrong?" She asked, on alert.

' _Volta's mentioned feeling a sort of pressure, and the rest of us can feel it too. We were wondering if you could.'_

"What sort…" She began, before reaching for her Aura. She _could_ feel something, and it worried her. She'd felt it before, when she was younger, but it had been worse than this. "Oh hell no!" She scrambled up, throwing the sketchbook and everything else into her bag. "Everyone, return your teams _now_!" The sheer commanding tone of her voice had the other trainers scrambling to obey. Misty opened her mouth to ask why, but the Adept preempted her. "I'll explain why later, but let's just say that if you don't, their lives _will_ be in danger." Her own team recalled, she looked to Volta. "You and Zy get in my bag and stay there. You might be safe, but there's something you should drink anyway." Reaching in, she pulled out a collection of small flasks, something she'd began carrying with her after that first time. "It's temporary, but it'll help a bit." She passed the others to her friends. "Drink these, then follow me. Don't ask questions, I'll explain what I can later, for now we need to find the source of this and see what we can do." Keeping the largest of the flasks to herself, she drank about a quarter, shuddering at the disgusting taste. Luckily, it was working, and the slight pressure she could feel faded to nothingness. "Right, let's get moving and try and fix some of this." Sprinting off with her two friends in tow, she was so focused on trying to find the source that she missed the glance they shared.

 _What could have happened to cause this?_

* * *

It was easy enough to find the source of the issue. As they got closer, Ashley began to get a pounding headache, and quickly drank some more of the mixture.

"Stupid damn blights." She muttered. "Why did there have to be one now? There's a limit to what I can fix, but if we get lucky, then it might not be too bad."

"Ashley, what's going on?" Misty asked, while the paused for breath. "I don't understand."

"For now, you don't need to. The full story's a bit worrying, but the summary is there's a sort of very rare, naturally occurring blight. It doesn't really affect humans, unless it's very powerful, but the main thing it does is make Pokemon extremely ill, and will kill them quickly. It can only affect people with special gifts, like Psychic powers, and empaths can sometimes be affected as well." Ashley realised she was straying into the territory of knowing too much again, but she didn't care. This was more important than her safety. "I think I can fix it, I learned how once, but the issue is finding how many Pokemon were affected to heal them."

"Excuse me?" The sudden intrusion of an unfamiliar voice caused Ashley to spin. A girl, around fifteen, was behind them, slightly hunched over and clearly out of breath. "Did you say you know how to fix this?"

"I do." She confirmed. The girl sagged in relief.

"Thank Mew. About three days ago, the Pokemon I take care of started getting sick. I haven't been able to heal any of them."

"Right, three days, that's good. Shouldn't be too serious, so I can try and heal them. Where to?"

"Just follow me." The girl started running, and Ashley followed. For a second, both Brock and Misty hung back, startled.

"This is one hell of a personality change from her." Misty blinked.

"I'd say. Who knew she was so commanding?"

"Well, she said she'd explain things, and if a lot of Pokemon are sick, we should go help too." Brock nodded, so the friends started running after the two.

* * *

The Aura Adept and the other girl arrived well before the others, so Ashley went straight over to one of the Pokemon and started checking it over.

"What've you tried?"

"The normal stuff first, like Oran and Pecha berries. Then I tried Potions, then some herbal types."

"Right." Deciding just to chance it and hope that the use of Aura wouldn't make anything happen to her, she looked about in Aura Sight. "Looking at this place, I think we might have a problem, but I can definitely cure the Pokemon. The area is another case."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I've seen this before, once. It's like a blight, affecting something called Aura. Pokemon have quite a bit, so they tend to get affected first. People can get affected by it, but it takes longer unless they have a gift." Shutting down her Aura Sight as her friends arrived, she stood, smiling grimly. "I can heal this, that's for sure. Sitrus berries are preferable, but Oran will do, if you mix it right. Pecha is also helpful, since it counters poisons and the blight is like one anyway. I've Revival Herbs in my bag, so I'll get those in a second, and hopefully…" She trailed off, digging through her bag and pulling out the Revival Herbs. Brock had set up a table when he'd gotten here, and she gave him a thankful look as she put them down. "Ah, here it is." She pulled out a bright pink flower. It had six large petals, and little yellow buds sat in clumps at the center. "It's a Gracidea Flower. They grow fast, so we can use this. Misty, Brock, can you go and find as many Oran and Pecha berries as you can. Keep your Pokemon in their Pokeballs, since I don't know how much this'll affect them. If… sorry, I never got your name." She apologised.

"Melanie."

"Right, Melanie, can you stay here and wait for them to get back? I'm going to set something up a little ways from here. It'll only take a few minutes, if I get lucky, but the actual purpose tends to take longer." She waited for nods of confirmation from each person before the group of three ran off, with Brock and Misty heading back the way they came and Ashley running for the forest. "Volta, I need you to do something. Remember the area Misty described yesterday?"

' _ **Yeah?'**_

"Sui passed over the water there. Can you take on of the empty flasks and get some water? I'll be in the clearing over there for a while yet. Drink some more of that stuff before you go."

' _ **Alright.'**_ When Ashley halted in her chosen spot, Volta leapt out of the bag with as big a flask as he could carry. ' _ **I can kind of smell Suicune, I think. Smells like fresh water and cool winds.'**_

"That'll be Sui. Follow it." She instructed, dropping to her knees with the flower. "Now, for Aura to do half the job…" She planted the flower, then took the flask she'd been using. "Mew, this is gonna _suck_." She grimaced, then downed the rest of the mix. "Gross, but more survivable than the alternative. To work!" She declared, then put her hand gently on a petal and began pulsing Aura. The little yellow buds shook, and she quickly blew to spread the dust around. When it landed on the ground, she moved her hand to follow it and kept at work. More of the flowers burst into being, but the petals stayed closed. Very little more dust fell, but she kept using Aura for a solid minute before she ended the flow with a gasp. _Still,_ she thought happily as she looked around. _It's worth it._

Nearly half of the clearing was covered in flowers, and about a quarter of those were fully bloomed. The rest were about halfway, and she hoped that they'd be close enough by the next morning. If she kept up the Aura work, she might be able to get the rest up to full, but she also might kill herself and she _really_ didn't want to take that risk. As she pulled the original flower from the ground, she carefully tested the buds to see how much of the pollen was left.

"Enough." She decided.

' _ **Enough what?'**_ She jumped slightly as Volta bounded into the clearing, the now full water bottle being held in place by his tail.

"I need the pollen for the mix we're making. Not much, just this one flower might be enough for what we need, but that's not the reason for the flower garden I've just made."

' _ **Then what is?'**_

"Later. Let's get this back, get to work, and see what we can cure." Taking the bottle from him and holding the flower in the other, she let him climb up to her shoulder and back into her bag. Ashley started running, heading straight for the clearing where the sick Pokemon awaited. "Sui, I know you're the north wind. Do me a favour and blow some of that pollen towards Sinnoh? We need their help." And, while she wasn't sure if it was her imagination, she could have sworn that the wind behind her strengthened slightly, and a few little glitters of pollen rose up from the clearing in answer.

* * *

When she got back, Ashley saw that neither of the other two had returned. That was both good and bad; she was able to avoid questions about what she'd been doing, but it also meant that she had to wait to start. Instead, she set down the two things she was carrying on the table, and dug a mixing bowl and a few other supplies from her bag, and waited with Melanie.

"What were you doing?" She asked. "That's the same flower from before."

Ok, maybe she _hadn't_ managed to avoid the awkward questions.

"It's nothing." She replied, putting the bowl to one side.

"You're lying." The calm, matter-of-fact tone with which she accused her made her turn sharply.

"How can you tell?"

"I can see it. You've a blue pattern around you, which I don't see on most people, but it has a hint of yellow on it. That means you're lying." At the end of that sentence, Ashley's brain went into overdrive.

 _Right. Adept or Psychic?_

 _I'd know if she were Psychic, since my Aura'd be acting up, although that isn't confirmed since Mew used to be fine around me, and the same the other way. If she were Adept, however, I'd see her use Aura Sight to look, so it can't be that. Best guess is Psychic, or maybe…_

"You're an empath?" She asked, surprised.

"I don't know."

"Right. Well, there's a way to check." Closing her eyes, she focused on a few memories, one's she knew would make her angry, while she suppressed her Aura. "What colours are there now?"

"The same teal, but also red." That was all the confirmation necessary, so she opened her eyes.

"Yep, empathic. That's cool, I've never actually met one." Ashley smiled.

"How do you know, though?" Melanie asked.

"One of my friends is Psychic, and I know how to recognise them. But still, that means you're safe, at least for me." Instead of letting the other girl question it, she looked for Misty and Brock, then flared her Aura in one palm. "The teal colour is because I'm an Aura Adept. We're rarer than Psychics and empaths, and have that pattern."

"Oh." Melanie's eyes widened. "So you were lying because…"

"...I'm not sure who I can trust, since it's such a rare gift." Ashley finished, with a nod.

"I'll not say anything to your friends, then." Melanie replied. "I might tell them about my own."

"That's fine." Further conversation on the matter was interrupted by the return of Misty and Brock, both of which were carrying as many Oran and Pecha berries as they could. "Right, bring those over here, then go and make sure that none of the Pokemon are getting any worse." She glanced back at Melanie as the both of them left again. "There's another draught in my bag. You might want it. You've been around this stuff for three days at least, so you might be affected soon." The girl paled slightly and nodded, opening the bag that was on the side of the table, away from the rest of the equipment. "Volta, pass her a drink please. There should be an extra somewhere in there."

' _ **Ok.'**_ There was the sound of a bit of digging, then a tiny flash in the corner of her eye before he popped up with the bottle. ' _ **Here you are.'**_ He handed it to Melanie and looked at his trainer. ' _ **This bag is awesome! Why is there so much room?'**_ Frowning, both from concentration of making the draught and trying to use telepathy, Ashley gave a quiet reply.

' _Mew.'_

"That is _disgusting_!" Melanie exclaimed, retching. "What is this stuff?"

"Oran berries, Pecha berries, water, and Gracidea pollen. It's bad because of the pollens, because it's kinda sharp, but at least it's not poisonous. It wouldn't even be that bad if it didn't react with the gifts we have. Gracidea pollen… well, I'll explain properly later." She gave up talking, focusing completely on the mix. It was actually quite simple, but the issue was the pollen. At the moment, she had a very limited supply of it, and she couldn't afford to go to the clearing she'd planted them in to get more. While the pollen was useful and completely necessary for the mix she'd need to cure the blight, it's actual purpose was far more valuable. If it took too long, she'd need to go and get another flower to try and make another mixture for the Pokemon, but she hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Can I help in any way?" Melanie asked, watching her work.

"Since you look after the Pokemon here, you'll know which ones got sick first." Ashley stated. "If you can go and get them, then help Misty and Brock get the rest of the Pokemon together."

"Alright. There were quite a lot of Water types to get sick first, so what should I do with them?"

"When I've finished mixing some of this, you can take it over to them."

"I thought this stuff stopped you getting sick?"

"Nah, this stuff cures it. The stuff that stops you from getting blighted has a really minor amount of something called Flutterbush, a rare plant from Alola. It's actually quite cool, and it helps stop the blight, because it's sort of a preventative for a lot of poisons."

"How do you have so many of these rare plants?" Melanie asked, astounded.

"A lot of luck and a few favours." She answered shortly. The other girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded, accepting the answer, and running off to the Pokemon. She knew Ashley was lying, but the Adept was lucky that she didn't press the matter. In truth, Sui had bought some of the plants back from a trip to Alola to do her duty as Purifier of the Waters, while Mew had given her a Gracidea flower when they'd first run into the blight and she'd been taught how to cure it. Both of these plants now resided in her aunt's garden, where she'd carefully grown them before keeping the amount that she'd need for her own work in a pocket in her bag. The Gracidea she grew at home grew naturally, since she didn't need to create a field instantly, which was what her Aura did. Still, there was a fairly sizeable bush with quite a lot of blooms on it, so she had extras if she ever needed them. Honestly, she hadn't expected to ever need to make the mix again, since the blight was so rare, but now she was so glad that Mew had taught her to make it. Glancing around, she picked up the Gracidea again, carefully brushing some of the pollen into a bowl, then moving away to crush together the rest of the ingredients.

' _ **Can I help at all?'**_ Volta asked, popping up from the bag again.

"Not really bud." She replied, adding a bit of water to the mix to make it more of a liquid. "It's not exactly complex, making this, but it needs to be done perfectly. The exact amount of each ingredients mixed with just enough water, then adding a tiny bit of the Gracidea pollen to it to give it the properties it needs. It took two months for me to learn to make it, and considering we did two or three of them every day until I got it right, that's a lot of wasted stuff."

' _ **How did you keep doing it? Wouldn't you run out? And how did you know if you'd done it right?'**_

"Aura." She replied. "And Mya has a sort of sensor ability, a Psychic one, that let her know if I'd made it right." _And that can't help me now._ She thought sourly, as she added the pollen that she needed and gave it a stir. _The only way I'm knowing if this worked is by giving it to a Pokemon and praying that it works in the next few days._ Just by looking at it, it seemed to be perfect. The colour was right, a nice lilac colour that had just a few hints of green from the Revival Herb, and the little glimmers of pollen that poked through didn't seem out of place, but Ashley was, by this time, a master. Mixing the same potion until it was perfect, then repeating it until it was perfect nine times out of ten made it very easy to spot inconsistencies. Since nothing seemed to be out of place, she moved the first bowl to one side and set to work on a second one, sighing silently. _Thank Mew. Now to do it another fifty or so times, and hope it works out._

"Ashley!" Misty called, running over. "Brock and Melanie are getting some of the Pokemon together, and I was wondering if I could get the stuff we need."

"Bowl's over there, get a spoon. One spoonful should be enough, since it's pretty powerful from the stuff that's in there. I'm just going to keep working, so come back when you run out." Ashley gestured with a nod to the bowl, while Volta popped up with a spoon from her bag.

"Alright." Misty hesitated for a moment, as if she wanted to say more, but just nodded, picked up the bowl and spoon, and ran back the way she came.

"Hey Volta, can you check in my bag and see if there's any more of the Flutterbush in there? I want to see if I can make more of the prevention potion while we're here."

' _ **Sure. What's it look like?'**_

"Green, pink-white petals with purple spots, look kinda like Butterfree wings, bright yellow center." She replied, mixing a second batch of potion together with the pollen.

' _ **Hold on a minute.'**_ He dove back down, and a few seconds of scrabbling followed before he popped back up, a plant on his head. ' _ **This it?'**_ She spared a glance over, moving the finished bowl as she did so, and nodded.

"Yep. I should have a few more in there, so if you can get them for me that'd be great."

' _ **Alright.'**_ He put the other one on the table and ducked back into the bag again, looking for the plants, while Ashley began mixing a third cure, getting some things ready for the other brew.

"I really hope this works out…"

* * *

Far off in the sky, hundreds of miles up and a thousand miles away from Kanto, two little shapes flew together. One was a pink, cat-like creature, with a long tail and bright blue eyes that matched the sky perfectly. The other was reindeer-like, mostly white, with a green crest and legs, and two white horns on its head, next to bright green eyes. A flower adorned its neck, like a cape or a scarf. The two flew side by side, perfectly at ease. The cat was stretched out, as if it was lying down on grass, while the other ran alongside it. Suddenly, a cloud of glitter-like substance crossed their path, interrupting their peaceful flight.

' _ **That's odd.'**_ Mew said, touching some of the dust. ' _ **Where's this from?'**_

' _ **It's Gracidea pollen.'**_ Her companion replied, sniffing it.

' _ **I knew**_ **that** _ **.'**_ She laughed. ' _ **But where's it come from?'**_

' _ **Kanto, I think.'**_ She sniffed a few times. ' _ **Yeah, Kanto. But none of the gardens should be in bloom yet… The one we made in Rota blooms near that festival of yours, while the Bulbasaur garden is a few months out yet. There's a few patches that might be, but none of them should make this much pollen.'**_

' _ **Should we take a look?'**_ Her friend nodded.

' _ **I'd say so. We'll be racing against the clock, though. Or you're going to be stuck carrying me the rest of the way.'**_

' _ **Then we should hurry.'**_ Mew surged ahead, oddly serious. ' _ **I'll take your form when we get closer. We'll look like a family then.'**_

' _ **Sure. Let's just hope there's no trap.'**_

' _ **I'll teleport us away of there is.'**_ She promised. Both Pokemon put on another burst of speed, and a Tailwind from Mew helped them along even more.

They had about half a day to cover a thousand miles, after all.

* * *

 ***Several hours later.***

* * *

"Finally." Ashley sighed, flopping over to lie down on the grass. "Thank Mew that's done."

"I agree." Misty sat down next to her. "Who'd have thought today would be so eventful?"

"I'm glad it was all the same." Melanie said gratefully, taking her own seat, followed by Brock. "Thank you so much Ashley."

"It wasn't a problem." She assured her. "Still, don't thank me yet. We might still have a problem here. I can't get rid of a blight from an area, no human can. The best I could do is make a ridiculous amount of the cures and preventions, then hope for the best."

"So that's it?" The empath looked crestfallen. "There's no way to fix this place?"

"No way a _human_ can." Ashley corrected. She was about to elaborate, but Volta cut her off from his place in the bag.

' _ **Ashley, should we go and check the Gracidea garden?'**_ Three humans blinked, even if one's lack of understanding was faked, but the fourth was confused.

"Gracidea garden?" They started.

"You understand Pokemon?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. I've always been able to, but I couldn't figure out why. Ashley reckons that I'm empathic, though. She tested me a bit earlier."

"And you're right, Volta, that is a good idea." The Adept replied, standing with a sigh. "I need new flowers anyway, since I've practically used all of that one." She grabbed her bag as the others stood, and called over her shoulder. "I planted it really quickly, since the Gracidea pollen reacts really well with a few things, so I used one to spread a garden around."

"But you only used one flower." Brock stated. "Why did you need a garden?"

"Because the cure wasn't the true purpose for it. If we get lucky, in a few days it should attract some very important visitors, which means that they can cure the blight." As the group stepped into the clearing, Ashley activated Aura Sight. She knew the Pokemon she was looking for would blend in with the garden almost perfectly, but she was hoping she could spot some sort of inconsistency that would give them away. Normal, normal, the pinkish cloud of the empath, Volta's yellow, poking slightly out of the bag with Zy's nothing on top, a Grass/Poison type, which was to be expected in a forest, and… _there_. Two green-sky blue, one with a hint of pink that meant… _dammit, why now? Where's she even_ been _?_

' _ **Is this it Meema?'**_ A young voice came from the edge, a question that clearly was faked.

' _ **It is. I'll admit, I don't remember there being a garden here…'**_ The second, older voice trailed off, just as Ashley opened her eyes and motioned for the rest of the group to stop where they were.

"There wasn't one." She said quietly, stepping over and crouching slightly to get closer to the voices. One of the deer-like Pokemon jumped in front of the other, clearly the Meema of the two, in a defensive stance, trying to threaten her. The other, however, was strangely relaxed, looking up at Ashley happily. The fact that it was the one with the fake Aura just added to it. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

' _Prove it.'_ While she wasn't expecting the telepathy from the non-Psychic type, she didn't let her surprise show.

' _ **Shay, wait…'**_ The younger one said. ' _ **She's telling the truth.'**_

' _ **How do you know?'**_ The Shaymin Sky forme didn't believe her 'child', but there was enough to her voice that meant she was curious.

' _ **It's Ashley.'**_ The Mew-turned-Shaymin replied.

"I'm Ashley." She introduced herself, as if she didn't understand the conversation. "These are my friends, Misty, Brock and Melanie. Melanie's an empath, so she understands even though we don't."

' _I see…'_ The tension, now held up completely by the Legendary's acting skills, fell away, and she stood normally. ' _What do you mean, there wasn't a garden here?'_

"I planted it. I needed to draw a Shaymin here somehow, and I knew you used Gracidea to transform, so I planted one and made the garden here."

' _Why try and draw us here, if you don't intend to be a threat?'_

"There's a blight here, an Aura one. I cured the Pokemon, but only you can get rid of it."

' _How would you know that?'_

"I got affected by one before, when I was younger. A Shaymin helped me then, so I knew one could now."

' _Very well. Lead us to the place, and I will purify it.'_ The telepathy altered slightly. ' _Hold on to Mew. She wanted to talk to you.'_ The Adept inclined her head, picking up the Mew in disguise while the true Shaymin flew upwards again.

"It's this way." Leading the way with Shaymin at her side, she lowered her voice to Mew. "I need your help with a few things."

' _What?'_ She said, before shaking her head slightly. ' _Actually, let me see.'_ Ashley let her mental wall fall down, giving her best friend access to her memories. Blinking as she glanced through the memories, she nodded. ' _Right, I understand. So, you want me to check over Misty and Brock for you?'_

' _Melanie trusts them, and I'm inclined to trust her, since she's empathic, but I don't know. And I really don't want to explain about you and the others to them.'_

' _I can check them over when we stop to let Shay purify the blight here. That's fine, no problem. About the Zygarde Cell-'_

' _Zygarde Cell?'_

' _The actual name of the thing you called Zy.'_ Mew explained. ' _I'll come along as a human when you reach Vermillion, if you don't mind holding onto it for a few days.'_

' _That's fine. I like it, and I might be able to try and understand it more.'_

' _You might, though don't get your hopes up.'_

"We're here." Ashley said instead, choosing not to reply to her friend.

' _I see. Yes, I can sense the blight here.'_ Shaymin nodded, looking around. ' _Step back. Seed Flare tends to be a little explosive.'_

' _Wait, isn't Seed Flare the one that opens portals?'_ Ashley asked worriedly, backing up a few steps with the rest of the group.

' _Only when you're in the Distortion World. It's fine to use here.'_ Mew assured her, smiling. ' _Now, I'm going to check over Misty and Brock for you.'_ Over the next few minutes, everyone was silent. Mew had closed her eyes, a sign she was using Psychic powers when she was in a non Psychic form, while the Shaymin before them had landed. Little wisps of black floated around the scarf-like flower, and slowly, a greenish-yellow light built up around the deer-like Pokemon, and the area around her glowed with that same sickly green. It was slow going, but the whole clearing, and some beyond it, was glowing after a few minutes.

' _ **Seed…'**_ Shaymin shouted, breaking the silence with a swing of her head. ' _ **Flare!'**_ An explosion of blue light followed, and Ashley had to fight the instinct to put up a shield with her Aura, even knowing it was harmless. Watching a massive wave of power flow directly towards you made you react like that. Instead, she watched the wave carry across the grass, purifying the air and land as it did so. It was a pretty thing to watch, even for the second time, and not being extremely sick this time was an added benefit. At the same time, the sun started to set, and a second golden glow enveloped the purifying Shaymin.

' _Mew.'_ Ashley warned, interrupting her work. The other Legendary opened her eyes, confused, then winced as she realised what she was missing. Her own glow was more white than gold, showing that she was transforming instead of changing formes, but everyone was too busy to notice. Mew settled back into her arms as a Shaymin Land Forme, then quickly went back to reading the minds of Ashley's two friends. The actual Shaymin also settled back into her Land Forme, and the Seed Flare began settling down into a fine blue dust that seemed to absorb itself into the ground. The hedgehog Pokemon sighed, then looked back at the group.

' _I've done what I can. I'm pretty sure I got everything. But, now that the sun's set, we can't go heading home until tomorrow.'_

"You can stay here." Melanie offered immediately. "It's the least I could do after you helped save the village. You four can stay here as well. I'm sure I can make room in my house for you."

"I'll camp out." Ashley returned. "It was something I needed to do, and you don't need to pay me back."

"Ashley, didn't you promise to tell us what was going on?" Misty asked. Ashley winced slightly.

 _I was hoping they'd forgotten that…_ She smiled, a little forced. "I will, but I'll do it in the morning." _Even if I'd rather not…_ Mew-Shaymin wriggled in her arms, and she smiled again, the time genuinely, and put her down. She went over to Shaymin, who nudged her and started speaking quietly. Out of courtesy, she didn't listen in, instead opening her bag to get a tent out of it. Volta hopped out, Zy on his head, while she pulled a tent out of the depths of the pocket dimension.

"I still don't understand how you do that." Misty whispered.

"And Brock pulling tables and cooking equipment out of his bag makes more sense?" She retorted rhetorically.

"I guess not." She admitted. Shaymin wondered over, looking oddly at Zy.

' _ **What might you be?'**_ She asked, frowning. Zy blinked a few times, which only served to confuse her further.

' _ **It's a Zygarde Cell.'**_ Mew told her, joining the three of them. ' _ **You remember Zygarde, right?'**_

' _ **Of course I do. We only saw him recently.'**_

' _ **What's a Zygarde Cell?'**_ Volta asked her.

' _ **It's a piece of Zygarde. Zygarde's a Legendary from Kalos, and he can split himself into pieces and reform in different shapes.'**_ Mew replied. Switching to telepathy to stop the empath from hearing, she continued. ' _I'll come by in a human form when you reach Vermillion City and pick it up, then take it back to Kalos.'_

' _ **Right.'**_ He nodded, happy with the answer.

' _ **Umm… excuse me?'**_ A female voice came from the side, causing the four of them to turn. Ashley twitched, wanting to follow the movement, but decided to finish putting the tent up for herself. A small Bulbasaur walked shyly over to them. ' _ **Lady Shaymin?'**_

' _ **Yes, young Bulbasaur?'**_ The Legendary's oddly formal voice came through, and Ashley grinned. Practically all of the Legendary's had a formal voice, though the only one she'd really heard was Ho-oh on that first day of travelling. ' _ **What is it you need?'**_

' _ **I… I wanted to thank you.'**_ She said. ' _ **You helped save my village.'**_

' _ **It's the duty of Legendary Pokemon to help others.'**_ Shaymin replied. ' _ **While I may not be like Lady Mew, the Guardian of the Earth, purification is one of my talents. Even if it was luck that she knew what to do, Ashley over there was the one who did most of the work. She cured everyone here, from what I've heard, and she knew how to call us to get rid of the blight.'**_

' _ **Then…'**_ She hesitated. ' _ **Could you translate something for me, Lady Shaymin?'**_

' _ **Of course.'**_ The young Bulbasaur looked hopefully at Ashley.

' _ **Would you catch me? I want to come with you.'**_ Shaymin telepathically relayed the statement, and Ashley waited until the end before blinking.

"How come?"

' _ **You cured everyone here, and called the Lady Shaymin here to save everything.'**_ She replied, while Shaymin duly translated to the rest. ' _ **I'd like to have you as a trainer, if you'd take me.'**_

"Of course I would!" Ashley smiled, holding out a hand. "I'm sure the rest of the team would be happy to have you."

' _ **Idea seconded!'**_ Volta added cheerfully. ' _ **Welcome to the group!'**_ He grinned, then lowered his voice. ' _ **Hope you didn't like having a startle reflex.'**_ The other three started drifting away, and Ashley gave it another few moments before relaxing, still not looking at Mew even as she walked up next to her.

"So, how're things?"

' _ **I'd say they're safe.'**_ She replied, sitting down and watching the girl sort out the tent. ' _ **Misty and Brock both genuinely like you, and I don't think they'd say anything if you asked them not to. But, well, I'm not Celebi, so I can't tell you exactly how it'd play out, and she wouldn't say anything anyway. I'll warn you though, they are getting a little suspicious, so I'd recommend saying something soon, just so it comes out on your terms rather than theirs.'**_

"Right, thank you." Ashley smiled down at her, swinging her bag into the tent. "I assume you'll be leaving at sunrise?"

' _ **Yeah.'**_ Mew nodded. ' _ **Shay will use the flowers to transform, and I'll just copy her, then we'll head back to Sinnoh. I'll drop her at the island, then head back to Rota and wait for your message to say that you're in Vermillion.'**_

"Don't cut your trip short on my behalf!" Ashley protested. "Knowing our luck, it'll be a week before we end up in Vermillion anyway, and the both of you can get back to Sinnoh in less than twelve hours, so you have plenty of time. Plus, you can teleport."

' _ **True.'**_ Mew laughed. ' _ **So, how's practise been?'**_

"Slow." She admitted begrudgingly. "We don't get to do much, because I'm always around with Misty and Brock, so we can't just slip off at random intervals to practise."

' _ **But?'**_

"Other than that, not much is different. It's a little hard to get the time, but the bits we've done are ok."

' _ **Good.'**_ Mew said, with finality. ' _ **So long as you keep working, I'm sure it'll go fine. Now, catch the Bulbasaur, go to sleep, and figure out how to explain what you need to say without saying anything you'll regret.'**_ The little hedgehog bounced off, while the real Shaymin followed with a laugh. Volta came running over, with Zy on his head and Bulbasaur a little behind. Ashley shook her head, taking out a Pokeball.

"So, if you're joining us, I suppose you'd better be ready for some weirdness." She began. "Because of this, I'll give you a quick version of what to expect. I'm an Aura Adept, not an official Guardian yet, am friends with four Legendaries and have two more trusting me with their eggs. I'm also the temporary guardian of Zy, who's a piece of the Legendary Pokemon Zygarde. And what Volta said was right, you won't have much of a startle reflex after spending time on our team." She loosed a breath, then held out the Pokeball with a smile. "So, want to reconsider?" The Grass type returned the grin, then tapped the button without responding. Upon being released again after the capture was complete, she chuckled.

' _ **Nope! Not a chance!'**_ The shy Pokemon then blushed. ' _ **I mean, I look forward to travelling with you.'**_

"Calm down." She patted her newest Pokemon on the head. "Now, unless you have any opposition, I give my team nicknames."

' _ **You didn't for Vespine.'**_ Volta argued. ' _ **Unless you count Ves.'**_

"That was already her name."

' _ **My name's Abilene.'**_ Bulbasaur put in. ' _ **My Meema's liked it.'**_

"Well Abilene, welcome to the group. You can meet the rest now if you want, or when we leave tomorrow."

' _ **Now, if you wouldn't mind.'**_ She nodded, releasing the other three.

' _Hey Ashley.'_ Ves waved. ' _Everything sorted?'_

"It is now." She replied, politely ignoring Abilene's shock.

' _Great! Gonna tell us what it was all about?'_

"You can wait til tomorrow. I'm explaining to everyone then." She waited a moment to let everyone's sighs of disappointment pass, then continued. "We do have a new teammate though, and some arrangements for our friend over there," She pointed at Zy. "But I'm delegating that job to Volta, because I need sleep. See ya!" She dove into the tent, giggling furiously at Volta's complaints.

 **/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/**

The next morning, the entire group was gathered outside the little building, with their team around them.

"So, what's first?"

"What was that?" Misty asked. "Ves said something about a pressure, then you were in full panic mode."

"It's a blight. I've never found the actual name for it, or if there even is one, but it affects Pokemon through Aura. People with special abilities, like Psychics and empaths and the few people who can wield Aura properly, can also get affected. I didn't know how strong it was, so I wanted to get our Pokemon out of harm's way as soon as we could."

"What's Aura?" Brock followed, squinting even more than usual. "I've never heard of it."

"You should have, if you've ever heard of Riolu and Lucario. It's a blue power, mostly a dead art to humans. It's a hereditary gift, and even then it tends to be quite rare. I've never met any, aside from my friends Lucario, but it's quite cool." It was technically true; she didn't count as someone she'd met.

' _There's practically no human Aura Users left, or if there are, they're not trained.'_ Shaymin put in, standing around in her Sky Forme. ' _The last known ones in Sinnoh died about six years ago, or close enough.'_ Ashley buried a wince at that.

"How did you recognise the blight, then?" Melanie inquired, clearly feeling Ashley's discomfort.

"I got affected by it once, ages ago. I was with a friend on a trip, in Alola, when we ran into one. Both of us got affected, but it was worse for me. My friend had a cure, then a Shaymin showed up and cleared it completely. That's how I knew Shaymin could get rid of it, though the Gracidea thing was a complete guess."

"Why were you affected, though?" Misty, in her obliviousness, continued. Ashley winced, looking for a way out, when it arrived, in the shape of a Meowth balloon with a motto streaming out of it.

"Oh, you're kidding me."

' _ **How far are we sending them today?'**_ Volta asked her, sparking.

' _Who might these be?'_ Shaymin asked, taking a defensive stance over Mew, who was also in Sky Forme and once again pretending to be Shaymin's daughter.

"Team Rocket." Ashley answered, glad for the distraction despite how annoyingly useless they were. "They steal Pokemon from trainers, though this particular group are extremely incompetent."

"Hey!" Jessie yelled from the balloon, somehow loud enough for them to hear. "We heard that!"

"That was the point!" Ashley called back, rolling her eyes. "Torna, Volta, sky high." Their eyes lit up, and Volta jumped onto the Pidgeotto's back, who took off in a flare of feathers and wind. They rose, passing the balloon, much to everyone's confusion, before Torna flipped, staying upside down for a few seconds before circling. A little yellow blob fell straight down, a small silver sheen barely visible at the bottom, and crashed into the balloon, flaring with a mass of electricity. The balloon exploded as Torna dove, catching the starter in her claws and heading back down to the ground as a tiny sparkle appeared in the air.

' _ **Oww…'**_ He groaned, as he was placed on the floor and Torna landed next to him. ' _ **Next time, I use less lightning.'**_

"Well, that _was_ the first time we've used it." Ashley reminded him, kneeling down. "It was impressive, though."

' _ **Thanks.'**_ He sighed.

"What was that?" Melanie asked.

"Iron Tail at a high velocity and a Thunderbolt." She answered. "It's mostly made to look cool, not really be useful, but it certainly does both."

"I'll say," Misty muttered. "What were we talking about?" Mentally, Ashley cheered.

"How I knew about the blight cure." All three blinked, but accepted the 'reminder'. The fact that Mew's eyes were glowing subtly was probably helping that, too… "And I knew it because of that first event. My friend wanted to make sure I knew it."

' _As brilliant as this is, I'm afraid we must leave.'_ Shaymin said. ' _I'd like to get home at a more leisurely pace than we came.'_

"Goodbye to you, then." Ashley replied. "And safe travels take you home." Shaymin bowed to her, then leapt for the air, running towards the north. Mew followed, a little slower, as if she wasn't as used to flight, but caught up quickly. The group watched as they flew away, before Ves spoke.

' _Shouldn't we be getting going too? I'm sure we need to head for Vermillion.'_

"Right." Ashley nodded. "Thank you for letting us stay here overnight."

"You helped save the village, and you're helping Bulbasaur move on." She replied. "It's the least I could do."

"Well, thanks all the same." Holding up Pokeballs, she returned her team, then placed Zy in her hair and picked up Volta as her friends did the same. _Can I really call them my friends, given how much I'm hiding from them?_ She thought sadly. _Probably not. I'd like to, all the same._ Even as she said her goodbyes and the group left the village, these thoughts plagued her for the rest of the walk. For some reason, even though she'd hidden her Aura abilities from her friends back in Pallet Town, this hurt far more.

* * *

 **AN: This chapter's a long one, and though it probably doesn't look like it, I had to make a few important decisions when writing.**

 **K: One was the Legendaries, one was Aura-**

 **P: Another was Melanie's empathy-**

 **T: And the last was how much Ashley knew.**

 **SV: Thanks, you three. Now, in order; the Legendaries was partly an excuse to show where Mew was, and the fact that she does actually have a job, aside from monitoring the Tree. The other part was to have a way to cure the blight without resorting to making Ashley very overpowered in Aura. The options were Shaymin, very OP Ashley, or temporarily killing Ashley.**

 **K: I'm… actually pretty curious about how that last one'd go down.**

 **SV: Maybe I'll make a sort of omake fic about it, with the things I might have done if it went that way. It'd probably be multi-chapter, so I didn't use it. Aura, I wanted to keep for later. Even though they've been checked by an empath and her best friend, Misty and Brock are still fairly new friends to her. This is a bit of a dilemma for her, and we touched on it last time.**

 **T: She said she didn't want to demand answers when she didn't want to give them herself, but admitted she did it to Misty before.**

 **SV: In a way, she's right that it was a good decision. If she hadn't demanded an answer, they'd have had the problem they had in the anime, so it went over better here. But that's the problem she's got.**

 **P: She also doesn't really trust them, in a way. She's friends with them, but it's only been about a month for Misty, and less than a week for Brock. She knows them, but doesn't trust them. Even the run in with Suicune was a massive coincidence, so it doesn't show much.**

 **SV: Melanie's empathy is something I wish I'd done in New Beginnings, since it would have been a better way to introduce the main thing, rather than just 'hey, this is a thing now!' I'm not going to change it now, but I am rewriting some of the chapters, because they suck.**

 **K: And finally, Ashley knowing so much. She doesn't actually know that much, but she does know how to deal with the blight, and a lot of Aura related stuff. Sciency stuff is iffy, like the Togedemaru that defied the laws of physics.**

 **SV: Ki over there's become my science checker for the fics at this point, because I don't need physics. Anyway, she know's a lot because she's been tutored in a lot, so she uses it in a lot. It's probably going to be a theme for a while.**

 **P: I think we're done now, right?**

 **SV: Yep! So, hope everyone's enjoyed the longer chapter, and tell me if you want to see the little omake that I mentioned earlier on. Do keep in mind it might slow down my work schedule a bit, since I'd need to work on that instead.**

 **K: I'm interested, even if no one else is.**

 **P &T: Have a happy easter weekend, and see you next time!**


	11. Announcement

Hey team, ShadowVulpix here!

Man, spring seems to just screw with my mental state. I hate doing this again, but I swear that new years and spring mess with my head. Sorry to say that I'm taking a hiatus. I know, after all the waits you guys go through, the only thing I give you is more. Please let me explain before you go on an angry review spree.

The main reason I'm doing this is because I've been pretty demotivated recently. I despise it, since it's spread to my schoolwork too, but things happen. Things got very stressful very fast, and I need a break from being pulled in a thousand directions at once to focus. Giving myself a break from writing at a hurried pace will help, I hope, and it should give me time to work properly.

In the next few months, I've got a ton of exams coming, and in June I'm heading off to Germany for a week. It's not a long trip, but it'll be a week away from the computer and unable to write, and I don't want to have to force out chapters. For the most part, the break is to give myself time to focus, plan ahead, and get through everything else going on. I'll get some chapters backed up and ready, hopefully good ones, and I'll be able to keep quality high without needing another break too soon.

Another point is that I'll be taking some time to rewrite some of the original New Beginnings chapters. Even though it was only a year and a half ago, I cringe at my writing from before and I need to fix it. Nothing major to be changed, mostly, but it's to get that fic to the standard the newest chapters of everything else are working at.

For a bit of good news, I can say that when summer comes around, I'll be able to try and get more chapters out, since I'll be on break and have more time to write. Of course, sometimes holidays cause me to procrastinate everything, but I'm doing my damndest to get out of the slump and back to work.

The main issue has been the side projects I'm working on. One of my problems in writing is that I sometimes get to a point where I have an idea for later in the fic, and I have to write them out now or I'll get into trouble later. One example of this is the mentioned 32,000 word 'chapter' that I wrote out in two weeks during March/April. I'm not saying anything, but that was part of the reason everything was late last month. I honestly shouldn't make excuses, but I wanted to tell you guys that.

Drawing a bit away from the announcements and into more general stuff, I recently got slightly obsessed with Naruto, and... might have started work on a little project that might get uploaded someday. Keep those hopes down, three stories is bad enough, but it will come, and I will not let it drain my workload.

Onto current story related stuff, there's a poll about Child of Mew, giving Misty a Dewpider. Originally, the plan was a Surskit, but with Sun and Moon giving a Bug/Water type that stayed Bug/Water I couldn't help but change it. If no wins, however, I'll leave her with a Surskit. Maybe I'll move Dewpider to Guardians, if it's close enough. There's a ton of plot stuff going down in both Guardians and Second Start, while Child of Mew is getting there much slower, mostly because of the organisation I have for it. Hopefully the filler style stuff won't bore you to death before the fun starts. I promise, it _will_ get fun.

Other than that, I think that's it. If there's any questions about what's happening, leave a review or PM me, and I'll PM you back a response, assuming I can without giving things away. I'll likely see you back in July, maybe August at a push, but I'll do my best to make it worth the wait. Again, sorry about the break, and I'll see you all then.

Shadow.


	12. Update!

Hey again guys.

Right, first off, the updates. I've done very little writing over the past few months, due to a lack of time from exams and spending some time without a stable internet connection. Because of this, updates might not come for a while.

Starting in September, updates for everything will be sporadic at best, since I'll be starting my last year of the GCSE course, and will be spending a lot of time focusing on that. I'm very sorry about this fact, but school work has to come first in this case. Suffice to say that I won't be abandoning any of my stories, but all updates will be slow. You might not get an update for Child of Mew for a while, but get two for Guardians of Power, for example. It'll depend on my mood and how much spare time I have.

Again, I'm very sorry about this, but it has to be done.

Sincerely, ShadowVulpix.


End file.
